The Sanctity of Marriage
by Hailey Ambrose
Summary: Rebekah Hargensen has never forgotten her heartbreak when Ted DiBiase wrongly accused her years ago.But how much longer can she keep their child a secret?When Ted finds out he has a daughter,his demands take a different turn. AU Fiction.
1. Chapter 1

This is my newest story. I hope you like it. Read and Review!

Disclaimer: I do not own the WWE or the wrestlers in this story. I own only my ocs. This story is fiction and is to be taken that way. No Copyright Infringement Intended.

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><p>As soon as Rebekah entered the boardroom she knew he had already arrived. A shiver ran up her spine as her eyes went to where he was standing. As if he too sensed her presence, he turned his head and his gaze met hers for the first time in nearly four years.<p>

Rebekah watched as he politely excused himself from one of the members of the museum board and came toward her, each one of his strides making her throat tighten until she could barely breathe.

She had dreaded this moment for months, ever since she had heard that Ted DiBiase Jr., the father of her little daughter Emily, was the principal sponsor for the London exhibition she was helping the head curator organize for the museum.

Ted came and stood in front of her, his tall frame blocking her vision of the rest of the board room.

"Hello, Rebekah."

She tried to disguise her nerves but her voice still came out creaky. "H-hello, Ted."

His gaze surveyed her in a leisurely manner, taking in her blond hair, before dipping to brush her mouth, and then lower, lingering a moment too long on the hint of cleavage her velvet evening dress exposed, before finally coming back to her blue eyes.

Rebekah felt as if he had touched her all over, the electricity passing from his body to hers making her skin prickle and the air surrounding them begin to crackle with tension.

"You have done very well for yourself." He said in a tone that suggested he hadn't expected her to. "Under-curator, I hear. That is quite an achievement for a petty thief, but then—as you did to me—perhaps you have everyone fooled as to what you are really like."

Resentment simmered in the tightening coils of her belly—the belly that had nurtured the child he had refused point-blank to acknowledge as his.

"I am the same person I always was, Ted." She said with deliberate coolness.

His lip curled in disdain. "No doubt you are but I was too blinded by lust to see it at the time."

Rebekah felt her face flame as a host of memories were unleashed by his use of that crude one-word description of what he had felt for her. The vision of the configuration of their bodies rocking in passion made her toes curl inside her high-heeled shoes. Her inner thighs quivered as she remembered how he had taken her to the heights of intimate pleasure time and time again on that two-month long study holiday in London. The fiery heat of the summer sun and the blistering scorch of his passion had burned her to the core of her being.

Lust.

Ted had lusted after her while she had loved him—unreservedly and irreversibly.

"Excuse me, Mr. DiBiase." Kendall Garren, one of the museum staff, approached with a nervous smile. "I hate to interrupt, but may I have a quick word with Rebekah?"

Ted gave her a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "But of course." He said and stepped back. "I have finished with her."

Rebekah watched as he turned and walked away, her stomach feeling as if someone had just kicked it with a lead boot.

"What was that all about?" Kendall asked with a puzzled frown.

Rebekah forced her features into casual indifference. "You know what billionaires are like. They have arrogance down to a fine art."

"Yes, well, arrogant or not, you'd better be careful with Ted DiBiase." Kendall warned her. "I just got a phone call from Jerry's wife, Lisa. Jerry's been admitted to hospital with a suspected heart attack."

"Oh no!"

"He's going to be fine." Kendall assured her. "But he is expecting you to keep Mr. DiBiase sweet about this exhibition, especially as it now looks as if he will be out of action for a few weeks."

"A few weeks?" Rebekah gulped.

Kendall shook her head gravely. "The doctors are suggesting he has angioplasty in a day or two. He will probably ring you himself and fill you in on what needs to be done, but in the meantime you'll have taken over the reins."

"Me?" She squeaked.

"Of course you." Kendall said. "You're the one with the most experience in London miniature sculptures. Besides, it was your idea in the first place to bring together contemporary artists and ancient works. This is the break you've been waiting for, Rebekah. It normally takes years working as an under-curator to get a chance like this. This will show everyone what a talent you have for set design and display."

Rebekah felt her chest crumple with doubt. "I don't think I can do this on my own... Jerry was the driving force behind all this. He was in contact with the sponsors. I had nothing to do with that side of things."

"Rubbish. You'll be brilliant. You always underestimate yourself. You're one of the most talented people we have working in the museum."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, but aren't you forgetting something? I'm a single mom. I can't work the hours Jerry was putting in."

"Most of the work has already been done." Kendall said. "But you'll have to make the welcome speech tonight. It's important you impress the sponsors; otherwise the exhibition might fall through. You know how competitive this industry is. Everyone wants a bite at the cherry."

"I hate speaking in public…" Rebekah bit her lip. "What if I stutter or have a mental blank or something? I always do when I'm nervous."

"You'll be fine." Kendall said. "Just have a glass of champagne before you start to calm your nerves. But remember to be especially nice to Ted DiBiase. He's the major sponsor as head of the DiBiase Foundation. Without Mr. DiBiase's funds and loan of artifacts from his family's private collection, this baby won't get off the ground."

"It will be fine, Kendall." Rebekah said, her confident tone belying the fragile state of her emotions. "I can handle men like Ted DiBiase."

"Good." Rebekah said. "You've got about ten minutes to show time. Why not go and sit in your office away from things, to collect your thoughts?"

Rebekah opened her office door a short time later, her eyes widening in shock when she saw her sister in the process of making a bed with a threadbare coat on the floor.

"What on earth do you think you're doing?" She asked, closing the door with a little snap.

Jennie turned and gave her a vacuous smile. "Hi, Rebekah." She said. "I'm just having a little rest between jobs."

Rebekah gritted her teeth, her brows snapping together crossly. "I told you never to come here when you're in this state."

"I'm not drunk." Jennie pouted as she swayed on her feet. "Just a little relaxed, that's all."

"Where did you get it this time?"

"Get what?" Her sister's gaze tried to focus on Rebekah's but failed. "You're such a strait-laced person, you know that, Becca? You ought to live a little. Get yourself a little buzz from time to time."

Rebekah watched as her sister's unsteady progress towards the nearest chair, her red head slipping sideways as she flopped down.

"Why are you here?" She asked.

Jennie looked at her through bloodshot eyes. "I came to ask for a loan but don't worry, I've sorted it out now for myself."

Rebekah felt apprehension creep along her skin. "What do you mean?"

Jennie gave her a smug look. "I ran into a rich guy outside the bathroom downstairs a few minutes ago. I offered him a quickie but he turned up his nose. He was such an arrogant bastard. I thought I'd teach him a lesson, so I pinched his wallet from his jacket as I brushed past."

Rebekah swallowed the lump of dread that was suddenly threatening to choke her. "H-have you still got it?"

"Got what?" Jennie's head rolled sideways again.

"His wallet." Rebekah asked. "Have you still got it or did you throw it away once you took out the money?"

Jennie squeezed her fingers into the back pocket of her leopard-skin jeans and tossed the wallet to her. "I was going to give it to my friend for his birthday. It looks like an expensive one."

Rebekah's fingertips sank into the soft leather as she caught the wallet. She looked down at it for a moment before she opened it, her eyes going wide with horror with she saw the identification photograph it contained.

"Oh no!" She gasped, her heart starting to clang against her ribcage.

Jennie lifted her head groggily. "What's up? Do you know him or something?"

Rebekah closed her eyes for a second. Surely she had imagined it. She did this all the time, imagining she was seeing Ted DiBiase's face in every newspaper or magazine she opened. As soon as she saw the blond hair, the blue eyes and handsomely chiseled features her heart would leap to her throat. It was probably because she had just seen him, she reasoned—his features were fresh in her mind.

She closed the wallet and put it in her evening bag with shaking fingers. "How did you get into the building?"

"I told the guy at the front I was your sister."

Rebekah suppressed an inward groan. "Look, Jennie. I have to give a speech in about three minutes."

Jennie turned to her makeshift bed and began to bend down. "That's all right. I'm just going to have a quick nap before I moved on."

"No!" Rebekah pulled her to her feet. "No, Jennie, you can't possibly sleep here. I might be a while and if anyone should find you in here…."

Jennie shrugged off Rebekah's hand and pouted. "I get it. You're ashamed of me. I'm not posh enough for your highbrow crowd."

"That's not true...It's just that tonight's very important to me." She said trying to ignore the clock ticking on the wall, which seemed to be speeding up.

"Come on, Rebekah." Jennie cajoled. "I only need a couple of hours sleep and I'll be on my way. I've got another client at eleven."

Rebekah felt physically ill at the thought of her sister sleeping with whoever would pay her the money to do so.

"How can you do this to yourself?" She asked. "Look at you, Jennie. You're stick-thin and so pale. You're slowly killing yourself and I swear to God I won't stand by and watch it keep happening."

"I'll be fine in a couple of days…I just wanted one more taste before I give it up."

One more taste.

How many times had Rebekah heard that empty promise? "What about giving the detox clinic another go?"

"That cruddy place. I wouldn't go there again if you paid me."

"You get paid to go to lots of other cruddy placed and to do God knows what cruddy things with no doubt totally cruddy men."

"You're just jealous because you haven't had sex in close to four years."

"Yes, well, look at the trouble it got me into when I did." Rebekah said and bit her lip as she thought of what Ted would do if he ever found out who had taken his wallet. "There's a new private clinic in Canada that's supposed to be getting good results. It's expensive but would you agree to go there if I can rustle up the necessary funds?"

"Maybe, maybe not."

"Will you think about it? I don't want Emily to grow up without her aunt. You've all we've got, Jennie. Mom would be devastated to have seen you like this, especially after what happened to Dad."

"I'll think about it." She said as she laid down on the makeshift bed.

Once Rebekah was certain Jennie was asleep, she retrieved the wallet from inside her bag. She looked at the photograph again, reeling under the flood of memories Ted's too-handsome features evoked.

Those blue eyes had burned with desire from the first moment they had locked with hers. She suppressed a little shiver when she thought of how that determined mouth had fed so greedily off hers. How his hands had known every curve and plane of her body and how his hard male presence had filled her with the explosion of his passion, taking away her innocence and leaving in its place an ongoing hunger that in spite of time and distance had never quite gone away.

She closed the wallet and suppressed a shuddering sigh. She would give it back to him anonymously at his hotel first thing in the morning. Hopefully he would never find out exactly who had stolen it….

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	2. Chapter 2

Rebekah had only just closed her office door when a tall figure stepped out of the shadows of the corridor. She felt her heart leap upwards as the dark penetrating gaze of Ted DiBiase hit hers.

"I was wondering where you had got to." He drawled as he came to stand right in front of her, his expression as inscrutable as a mask.

"Um…I had to see to some…err…paperwork." She said, her throat feeling too tight to even swallow her rising panic.

"Is this your office?" he asked, indicating the door she was blocking with her body.

"Err…yes."

"Why don't we go in and have a little chat?" he suggested. "We have a few minutes before the board assembles."

Her eyes popped in alarm and she pressed her back against the door. "Chat about w-what?"

She stood still as he picked up a long wayward strand of her blond hair and ran it through his fingertips as if examining the quality of silk.

"About us." His eyes burning with something she remembered all too well.

She felt the tremors of reawakened desire rearrange her insides, the hot lava of longing anointing her intimately and her breasts tightening as if they could already fee that hard male mouth sucking on them demandingly.

"Th-there's no us, Ted. You ended our relationship four years ago, remember?"

"I remember everything." He said still playing with her hair, his blue eyes holding hers. "And so do you. I can see it in your eyes."

The silence seemed to throb with memories, dangerously seductive memories that had the ability to destroy Rebekah's self-control all over again. She had thought herself immune to his devastating allure but from the first time his blue eyes had sought hers that evening, she had felt the lethal tug of attraction in every one of her pulsing veins.

"I—I have to p-prepare for the meeting now…" She said. "I—I can meet you later if you like." She tacked on without thinking for the consequences. "We can talk afterwards. You know… have a drink….or something."

He released her hair and stepped back from her with an enigmatic smile. "I will look forward to it, Rebekah."

She peeled herself from her office door once he began to walk back up the corridor, her chest almost collapsing with relief when he turned the corner for the stairs. Agreeing to have a drink with Ted DiBiase had been her mistake four years ago; God knew what damage it would do to her now, she thought as she made her way to the boardroom on leaden legs.

Rebekah looked around the museum boardroom a few minutes later and wondered if she was going to need more than a glass of champagne for courage. The way she was feeling, a couple of bottles wasn't going to be enough to dull the panic racing through her system. Her stomach was threatening to misbehave and her head felt so tight she was sure her skull was going to crack under the pressure.

She could see Ted DiBiase standing at the back with a glass of barely touched champagne in his hand. He turned and locked gazes with her, the seductive promise she could see glittering there making her heart stumble in her chest.

"Members and honored guests, ladies and gentlemen." The museum manager took his place at the microphone, his booming voice thankfully kick-starting Rebekah's heart once more. "It is our very great honor to have with us Mr. Ted DiBiase, the head of the DiBiase Foundation. I would now like to call upon our acting museum curator, Ms. Rebekah Hargensen, who is going to speak to you about how the exhibition cannot go ahead without the continued support of you—our members and our wonderful sponsor, including the very generous Mr. DiBiase. Rebekah?"

Rebekah staggered toward the microphone, her mind going completely blank. What was she going to say? With the distraction of Jennie's impromptu visit and Ted's sudden appearance in the corridor she hadn't had time to prepare a speech.

"Members and honored guests, ladies and gentlemen…" She began and some who continued her speech without once looking in Ted DiBiase's direction, but she could feel his blue diamond gaze on her all the same.

Finally it was over. She stepped down from the podium on legs that felt like not quite set jelly and took the glass of champagne Kendall was holding out for her.

Kendall spirited her away to a quiet corner. "What did I tell you? You did a fabulous job. God, Ted DiBiase was looking at you the whole time like he was seeing right through that dress. You might think he's arrogant, but it sure looks as if you've taken his fancy."

Rebekah took a deep slug of her drink. "I'm sure you're mistaken. He doesn't like me one little bit." She said, letting her worried gaze drift to where Ted was leaning down to hear what one of the board members was saying.

"What do you mean?" Kendall frowned as she followed the line of Rebekah's vision.

"I've got a bad feeling about this." Rebekah said, gripping her glass even more tightly.

Kendall gave her a probing look. "Have you met him before?"

Rebekah didn't' answer but her expression must have given her away for Kendall suddenly crowed. "I've got it! You met him in London when you went to do research for your studies, right?"

Rebekah put her half-drunk champagne down on a side table and turned around so she couldn't see the man who had torn her heart from her chest. "We have a past, yes. But I'd rather not talk about it. Sorry, Kendall. It's just too painful."

"Don't worry, my lips are sealed. Uh-oh, he's coming back over. I'd better scoot."

"No don't leave me!" Rebekah made a quick grab for her colleague's arm but it was too late Kendall had already been nabbed by one of the members, who was leading her away to show her something of interest on the far side of the room.

"It is time for you to fulfill your promise, Rebekah." Ted DiBiase said, towering over her. "Let us go and have that drink, hmm?"

"Um…I….I'm not sure that would be appropriate right now. I have some more people to see and-"

He stepped closer so she had to crane her neck to keep eye contact, which she could only assume was a deliberate attempted to intimidate her. He had always used his exceptional height to his advantage and now was clearly no different. "You are not reneging on our arrangement, are you?" He asked.

"I—I'm not sure it's such a good idea to revisit the past…" She moistened her mouth and added shakily. "I've had a long day and I think it might be best if I go straight home…"

His eyes burned down into hers with a warning she knew was going to be impossible to ignore. "Perhaps it would be a timely reminder at this point to inform you that if you do not follow through on your promise to have a drink with me, you could find yourself without an exhibition and, dare I say, without a job?"

It was true, Rebekah thought with a sickening wave of panic. If she did anything to compromise the exhibition's success her one-off chance at being head museum curator was going to remain exactly that—one off. She would never be considered for promotion again and as he'd intimated—perhaps even fired.

"The evening is drawing to a close" Ted said. "I have a limousine waiting outside. You and I will leave in it together and go back to my hotel where we will have our private discussion and that little drink understood?"

"If you insist." She said swallowing the lump in throat.

"Good." He said taking her by the elbow. "Let us go right away. Smile for the cameras. It would not look good if you were seen in tomorrow's papers scowling at me as if I were the devil himself."

Rebekah didn't trust herself to answer, but she could feel the touch of his fingers burn through the winter sleeves of her velvet evening gown, the subtle suggestion of force underpinning his hold striking a deep note of unease in her.

The stretch limousine was waiting outside the museum's entrance and she made her way down the sandstone steps on legs that were struggling to keep her upright. Once they were inside the car, Ted closed the panel separating the driver from the rear and joined her on the seat and his weight as he sat back on the plush leather caused her to tip sideways towards him. She put out a hand to stabilize herself but it landed on his strong, muscular thigh. She whipped her hand away but he caught it in mid-air and put it back down on his thigh but much higher this time.

Rebekah's eyes flared with panic as she felt his body stir beneath her hand. She could feel her cheeks turning a hundred shades of red as she tried to ease herself away but he was having none of it.

"What is wrong, Rebekah? Do you not remember how you used to slip your hot little hand inside my pants in the past? Is that what you were hoping to do tonight, touching me like that to remind me of what we had shared in case I had forgotten?"

She felt a burst of liquid fire explode between her thighs as a host of memories assailed her. Oh, God! He had taught her such intimacies. She had learned under a master, her body singing with the tune of his touch each and every time.

"And what about your equally scorching little tongue?" He continued, his eyes still lasering hers. "Can you still taste me in your mouth?"

She stared at him, unable to speak, unable to move, barely able to breathe. He slowly brought his mouth to the side of her neck, his lips moving against her sensitive skin as he spoke. "I can still taste you. Your saltiness and your sweetness are branded on my tongue."

Rebekah's belly prickled with a thousand tiny needles of desire, her skin heating from the inside out. She tried to ease away but he continued his caress of her neck until he came to the upper curve of her right breast where the low-cut design of her gown gave him perfect access. She sucked in a sharp breath as his tongue licked the exposed flesh the faint but exquisite rasp on her skin sending every rational thought out of her head.

"You still taste of passion, Rebekah." He said. His voice a low guttural growl as his hand reached for her bra-less breast. "I can feel it beating beneath your skin."

His hand took the weight of her breast while his thumb commandeered her already pert nipple, his touch hovering somewhere between pleasure and pain. There was a hint of cruelty to his mouth as his head came towards hers, but she did nothing to try and escape it.

Just one kiss, she gave herself mental permission. Just one kiss….

His lips were like fire on hers, his tongue an invading force as it ensnared hers in a dueling dance that sent her senses into overdrive. Her mouth clung to his, her free hand coming up to his head to bury his fingers in his hair, her breasts pressed tight against his chest, her tongue flicking against his unashamedly and with escalating urgency. He pressed her back into the leather seat, his mouth leaving hers to suckle on the breast he'd already freed with his hand.

Rebekah arched her back as his tongue curled around her nipple, the warm cave of his mouth pulling on her until everything went out of focus. She clamped her eyes shut and whimpered with pleasure as his mouth drew on her more fervently. She felt him swelling beneath her hand and with a brazenness she had no idea she still possessed, she began stroking, up and down, until she had satisfaction of hearing him groan his need out loud.

His mouth came back to hers, this time with a heat and fire that was devastating. It woke every sizzling memory in her brain of their passionate time together under the burning heat of the London summer sun. Her head burst with the memory of swallowing him for the first time, relieving him of the unbearable pressure that even now she could feel building beneath the ministrations of her hand.

Ted tore his mouth off hers to stare down at her with glittering eyes. "So it is as I suspected from the moment I saw you again. There is a fire still burning in your belly for me, as there is one in mine for you. It has never quite gone out, right Rebekah?"

She reared back in shock. "No! That's not true."

He caught her hand and brought it up to his mouth, his lips playing with each of her fingertips until he paused to ask, "But the things I would like to know is, what price have you put on yourself now?"

Rebekah looked at him, her heart kicking like an unbroken thoroughbred in her chest. "P-price?"

His smile contained a hint of ruthlessness and his fingers tightened on hers. "You have surely moved beyond the pickpocket stage, have you not? You are after a much bigger haul this time around."

"You're wrong." She said, lifting her chin in pride as she tugged out of his grasp. "I've never stolen anything from you or your mother. I was framed. I'm sure of it. Someone wanted me to be found guilty but it doesn't mean I was."

"So you are still lying." He said, his blue eyes flickering with anger. "I would have thought you would have rid yourself of the habit by now."

"I'm not lying!"

"I know what you are like, Rebekah. You are an expert at deceit. Four long years have passed and you are still the most convincing liar I have ever met. You do innocence so well I am sure you would confuse even a polygraph machine. But I am not a fool. I can see exactly what you are up to."

Rebekah felt sick with apprehension. Her head swam with it, great swirls of it moving around so erratically she wondered if she might faint. She pinched the bridge of her nose to keep control her whole body shaking beside the rigidity of his as the limousine drew to a halt outside one of New York's premier hotels.

"Get out." He commanded as the doorman opened the door.

She got out on wobbly legs and came to where Ted was waiting for her, his hand reaching for hers, the latent strength of his fingers as they enclosed hers, leaving her with no chance of escape even if she'd had the courage or lack of sense to try.

The lift began to sweep them up to the penthouse floor but still Rebekah couldn't unlock her frozen throat. It was filled with the dry ice of dread as the number for each floor was illuminated by a bright green light. They should be flashing red, she thought as she swallowed convulsively again.

Red for danger…

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	3. Chapter 3

Once the lift doors opened with a whisper, Ted pulled Rebekah along with him to his penthouse, swiping his card key and thrusting the door open so she could precede him into the plush suite. She watched as he lifted his hand to his throat and released his tie, the action so very masculine she felt her stomach tilt sideways in spite of all that had happened this evening.

"What are you after this time around, I wonder?" He asked, shrugging himself out of his jacket and tossing it on to one of the luxurious sofas.

Her face flamed with a combination of fury and embarrassment. "I don't want anything and certainly not from you."

He gave a mocking laugh. "Every woman is for sale." He said with arrogant confidence. "The trick for men is to get the currency right the first time around. You were after a billionaire husband four years ago and you very nearly pulled it off."

His leather belt coiled like a serpent on the carpet and fear crept with frosty footsteps up the back of Rebekah's neck.

"But this time around I must say you have me a little intrigued as to your motives" He went on musingly. "You suggested we have a drink together but then you pretended you did not want to follow through. Then you could not stop yourself from touching and kissing me, and yet you deny any lingering attraction. You are playing cat and mouse games with me, are you not?"

"No, of course not!"

"You wanted to remind me of what I threw away, huh Rebekah?" He lifted her chin so she had no choice but to meet his all-seeing gaze, his thumb stroking so close to her mouth she could feel her lips starting to tingle." Are you offering a re-run, I wonder?"

"No…." The word came out too softly to be believed but Rebekah knew that, no matter what passion still flared between them, she couldn't possibly sleep with him without revealing her emergency Cesarean scar. He had accused her of lying about her pregnancy to get out of trouble. What would he say when he found out she hadn't been lying at all?

If he were to find out she'd had his child, she knew she would be forced to say goodbye to her daughter forever. She knew it without a doubt. With her sister's problems on top of what Ted had already accused her of four years ago, Rebekah's press for full custody would be laughed out of court for sure. Besides, good legal representation would cost her dearly and she had enough money worries already without adding to them. She had to get Jennie into that clinic. It was her only chance to get out of the clutch of her addiction.

"You are looking pale." Ted observed dropping his hand. "Have I shocked you, Rebekah? Did you not think I would still want you after all this time?"

"Yes…I am little shocked…"

His eyes glinted. "To tell you the truth, so am I. I did not expect to feel anything but hatred when I saw you tonight but the sudden rush of desire I felt and still feel for you is like a fever raging in my blood. I will have you again. That is what your little heat and retreat routine tonight was all about, was it not? To make me revisit what we started four years ago."

She sent him a look of defiance overlaid with scorn. "Only a barbarian would want to satisfy a desire for someone he hated."

"You think me a barbarian? I can see I am going to have to make you eat those words, Rebekah. You were the one who came on to me in the limousine, remember? You made it very clear you were interested in resuming our association."

Anger rose in her like bile; she could taste it in her mouth, the metallic sourness making her feel positively ill. Shame was there too, burning red hot shame that leaked into her cheeks as she remembered how she had touched him.

"If you think you can intimidate me, think again." She lied.

"I must not be getting my message across very clearly." He said silkily, his deep voice moving over her skin like a flow of sun-warmed chiffon.

She disguised a nervous swallow but she saw the way his gaze dipped to her neck as if he had sensed the up and down movement of her throat. "Wh-what do you mean?"

"I want you, Rebekah as much as you want me." He said. "I am here in New York for the next month. During that time I want you to be my mistress."

She reeled backwards in shock. "No!"

"No?" He arched his eye brows.

"N.O. No," She repeated. "Never."

He paused for a moment, each second ticking by feeling like a hammer-blow to Rebekah's skull. The tension was unbearable. "I met someone this evening." He dropped into the taut silence. "Someone who reminded me very much of you."

Rebekah's eyes flicked nervously to her evening bag before she could stop them.

"It seems theft runs in your family." He continued.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"The police are searching for your sister as we speak." He informed her. "Once they locate her, it is up to me to decide whether or not to press charges."

She stared at him speechlessly, her stomach folding over in panic.

"Of course if I do happen to press charges, she is likely to face trial, even be sent to prison." He continued in the same coolly detached tone.

Rebekah knew all about prison and the drug use that was rife within them. Her father had died a horrible death—a death that could have been prevented if he had received the help he'd needed earlier. She had to stop the same thing from happening to Jennie. Whatever it took, she had to stop her sister from going down even further. Jennie would never recover, not after months in some horrid prison with heroin on tap.

"So you see it is all up to you. You either agree to be my mistress for the next four weeks or you will be seeing your sister from between iron bars from who knows how long."

"You can't ask this of me. It's totally immoral."

"Perhaps your sister's welfare is not enough inducement for you. I can see you have much more class than she has, so perhaps I will have to use a different currency with you after all."

This is it, Rebekah thought with another sickening wave of panic. Here goes my career and my livelihood.

"Are you not going to ask me what I mean Rebekah?" He demanded when she didn't respond.

She clenched her teeth until she was sure they would crack. "All right, let's get it over with. Tell me what you're going to do if I don't cooperate. I can handle it. It is after all what I expect from someone as unprincipled as you."

"You will have to tame that tongue of yours." He cautioned. "I will not tolerate you speaking to me in such a way."

She tightened her mouth and glared at him. "How do you expect me to speak to you when you're treating me like a…a…?"

"Whore?" He offered. "Isn't that the word you are looking for?"

"I am not a whore and you cannot make one."

"I have no intention of doing so. The role I have assigned for you is somewhat different. You will be my companion for the many social engagements I have planned for the time I am here. I do not know my way around New York and would appreciate your company."

"And if I don't agree to this preposterous plan of yours?"

He smiled again. "I would have thought you would have worked that out for yourself for now."

She had worked it out but she clamped her lips tightly together and waited for him to continue her stomach tightening with apprehension.

"If you do not consent to be my mistress, then the DiBiase Foundation will immediately withdraw its sponsorship from the London Exhibition you and your desperately ill colleague have meticulously planned. Of course, if the major sponsor should pull out, what do you think the other smaller will do?"

Again Rebekah knew exactly what they would do, but wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of hearing her say it out loud.

"As to your job…" He paused to inspect his signet ring for a moment before returning his gleaming eyes to hers. "Is it worth losing over a simple matter of your pride?"

She tightened her hands into fists. "You can't do this. I won't let you toy with me like this."

"The way I see it, Rebekah, you do not have any choice. You either agree to be my mistress or face the consequences. I let you off lightly four years ago. My mother was far too gracious on your behalf to allow me to send you to the authorities as I had planned."

Her eyes shone with unshed tears. She would not cry. Not now. Not in front of him.

"I did not steal from your mother's gallery."

He ignored her to continue. "You wormed your way into my bed in ordered to get to the treasure trove of my dead father's priceless collection, did you not? I should have guessed it but I was naïve to the underhand tactics of someone like you. You had me fooled, which is something I am not proud of to this day. I foolishly fell for a lie. I had you picked as a young, innocent twenty-one year old student who had not seen much of the world but I was wrong. You are as street-smart as they come, perhaps even more so. The hostel operator told me later that you had had at least two other men in your room while you were seeing me."

She looked at him in outrage. "That's an outright lie!"

He tilted his head at her imperiously. "You have some other explanation?"

"Yes. The two young men in question were nothing but troublemakers. I met them a few days before I left. They were annoyed I wouldn't go out with them to party all night. They started playing practical jokes on me like leaving their clothes in my room or pinching my pillow."

"You did not mention them to me at the time." He pointed out.

"I didn't see the point. They were just kids with too much money and too little sense. I didn't want them to get into trouble unnecessarily."

"I do not believe you."

Her eyes blazed at him in fury. "It wouldn't matter what I said—you'd never believe me. You're crazy. Totally out of your mind crazy."

"Not crazy, Rebekah—I am simply in search of justice."

"Why now?"

"When I was approached by Jerry Lawler about this exhibition I was immediately interested." He said. "I knew you lived in New York, but when I found out that you not only worked at the museum but would be actively involved in the exhibition itself, I could not resist coming to see what you had made of yourself."

She gaped at him. "You planned this?"

He gave her an indifferent look. "It was too good a coincidence to pass up on. I must say it impressed me that you had gone on to complete your studies, even to get a Ph.D.—a grand achievement for a young woman of your age, but again, I imagine you slept your way to your graduation."

Rebekah glared at him, her chest rising and falling in anger at his assumptions about her character. She had worked so hard to get her final qualification. Her pregnancy had been a nightmare and her mother's sudden diagnosis of an aggressive type of breast cancer had made a difficult situation unbearable. She had studied into the early hours, existing on a minimum amount of sleep in order to get her thesis written, all the while nursing her rapidly failing mother and doing her best to keep her younger sister out of the trouble she seemed intent on drifting into with an unfortunate choice of friends.

Rebekah still blamed herself for Jennie's current problems. She had been too preoccupied with juggling her pregnancy and completing her degree to do what should have been done. Jennie had been steadily heading down the same destructive pathway as their father but she hadn't wanted to acknowledge it. It had been too painful.

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	4. Chapter 4

"You can think what you like, but I can assure you my qualifications are all above board." She bit out.

"Nevertheless you have used them to your advantage, have you not?" He observed. "You handle daily some of the most priceless artifacts in the world. Tell me, Rebekah, have you been tempted to steal something from the museum and sell it on the black market yet?"

She threw him a caustic glare. "I am not even going to dignify that question with an answer."

"Why did you not tell me your father served a considerable time in prison for armed robbery?" He asked after a small but carefully timed pause.

Rebekah could feel shame weighing her shoulders down but forced herself to hold his obsidian gaze. "My father died behind bars several years ago. I don't even think of him now."

If he was in any way taken aback by the cold unemotional delivery of her statement he showed no sign of it. His eyes bored into hers for another beat or two before he continued in a tone that contained an unmistakable threat.

"It would be rather unfortunate if I were to be forced to reveal to your employers your little indiscretion of four years ago. They might not like the thought of harboring a thief in their midst."

Rebekah knew he would do it. She could see the ruthlessness in his gaze as it challenged hers. "You are all I most despise in a man. " She said through tight lips. "I cannot think of a man I hate more."

"Then it will make our relationship all the more exciting, don't you think?"

"It will make it disgusting and unbearable." She shot back.

"I will make sure you are adequately compensated." He said as he reached for his check book in the inner pocket of his coat. "You will need an array of glamorous clothes, for which I do not expect you to pay for yourself."

She watched in sinking despair as he slashed his distinctive signature at the bottom and handed it her. "It's blank." She said glancing down at it without taking it from him.

"That is because you can name your price, Becca." He said. "I am willing to pay you whatever you want. You, of all people, know I can afford it."

Rebekah felt like asking for a totally outrageous sum but her pride wouldn't allow it. He had wrapped his proposition in the euphemistic term of mistress but she knew exactly what he was expecting in return.

A vision slipped into her mind of her sister taking money off strangers to feed her habit. Night after night Jennie rented her body and yet here was a chance for Rebekah to put an end to that forever. She skittered away from the thought of being Ted's lover again but the images came creeping back into her brain: his long legs entwined with hers, his body pumping its frantic passionate response into the tender sheath of hers.

Her stomach gave a funny little somersault at the thought of feeling that level of sensuality again. No. She would not, could not, do that again.

"Since you are having such difficulty deciding on the amount, I will leave you to fill it in yourself." Before she could stop him, he took her bag from her shaking fingers and opened the clasp.

Rebekah's breath screeched to an halt in her chest, her face feeling as it if a bonfire had been lit in each cheek as he took out his wallet, his long tanned fingers seeming to her as if they were moving in slow motion.

"I—I was going to give it back to you…." She said as his accusing eyes locked on to hers.

The white tips of anger about his mouth distorted his arrestingly handsome features into harsh lines of revenge. "You lying, thieving little bitch." He ground out. "You are working as a team with your sister. I should have guessed."

"No! That's not true!" She said. "I'll g-get your money back for you…"

His brows snapped together in time with the closing of his wallet. "Indeed you will." He said. "But in the meantime you can pay me back in kind."

Rebekah swallowed convulsively. "I can't do this, Ted." She said brokenly. "Please don't ask me to."

"I'm not asking you, Rebekah—I'm telling you. If you do not agree to be my mistress, then your sister will face the authorities as she so clearly deserves."

She felt her shoulders drop in defeat. It seemed there was going to be no way out of this.

"How much do you want?" He asked again, each hard-bitten word driving a stake through her heart.

She stared at the floor and mumbled what she thought would be enough to cover the cost of Jennie's rehabilitation—her face fiery red with shame at what she was committing herself to in agreeing to be his short-term mistress. It was a pathway to heartbreak all over again, but what other choice did she have? She could hardly tell him the truth about her motives. Jennie's issues aside, if he found out he had a child he would stop at nothing to take Emily away from her.

He wrote the figure on the check and handed it back to her. "I can see how you have perfected the art of camouflaging your real motives. You give every appearance of being uncomfortable accepting money from me, but I know that is all a clever little ruse of yours to get me to lower my guard."

"I feel uncomfortable accepting a glance from you, let alone anything else." She said in arctic tones. "The thought of sharing my body with you sickens me to my stomach."

His gaze visibly hardened his jaw tensing as he fought for control. "It did not seem to sicken you a short time ago in the limousine. We both know I could have taken you then and there."

She knew it was foolish but she couldn't resist retorting. "It would have been by force."

He gave a mocking laugh. "You think so?"

"I hate you Ted DiBiase. I hate you with every breath and bone in my body."

"I am sure you do, but perhaps I should make clear at this point that your hatred and loathing is to be kept strictly private. In public we will be like any other couple who have nothing but the highest regard for each other."

"And if I don't comply?"

"I am surprised you have the gall to even ask me that."

She lowered her gaze in case he saw the desperation she was feeling. "How do you wish to conduct our relationship?"

"I would like to see you on a regular basis."

Rebekah felt her insides twist in anguish. Her little daughter Emily hated it when she went out more than once or twice a week. It was hard enough juggling a day job without trying to burn the candles at both ends. And this particular candle was going to be a very dangerous one…

Ted looked down at her wide frightened blue eyes and frowned as his conscience gave him a sharp little nudge. Had he pushed her too far? He hadn't thought so but how could he tell? She was a master at deception and he wasn't going to allow himself to forget it for a minute. She had fooled him before with her declarations of undying love but she had betrayed him in the end. She had ruthlessly used her relationship with him to get to his family's wealth and that he would never forgive. Tonight was yet another example of her artifice. It could hardly have been a coincidence that her sister stole his wallet. Rebekah had known for months that he would be there that evening. What better payback for the way he had uncovered her thieving in the past than to do the very same again, albeit vicariously?

"I will expect you to be available to me each evening." He said into the stiff silence. "There will be late nights on occasion."

She looked up at him, tears sparkling like tiny diamonds in her blue eyes. "I can't stay overnight…"

His hand tipped up her chin. "Is there someone else?"

What could she say? Yes, your little daughter who will expect me to tuck her in each night. It would be asking for instant heartbreak. She'd have to find some way of fulfilling his expectations of her without compromising Emily's well-being. It wasn't as if she could rely on her sister, but her friend Christina Mizanin was another option she could explore. They often traded babysitting time when either of them had something important on in the evening.

"No…no, there's no one else…." She had to think on her feet and added, "I'm doing an online course on archaeology. I have to study most nights. I have assignments to complete…it's a big workload…" She held her breath to see if he believed her, his eyes ranking her face as if searching for the color of her lie.

He released her chin after an eternity and stepped back from her and held open the door. "I will see you tomorrow evening." He said his voice detached and cold. "Seven-thirty in the bar downstairs. I will make sure the concierge issues you with a swipe card to my room if I am not there to meet you on time."

Rebekah walked past him on shaky legs. She turned around but he had already closed the door, the sudden movement of air feeling like a slap on her tear-streaked face.

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	5. Chapter 5

It was only as Rebekah handed Ted's check over at the bank in her lunch hour that next day that she realized something was amiss. Her brow creased in a worried frown as she watched the teller process the transaction, the young woman's fingers flying over the keys and the funds were deposited into Rebekah's credit card account.

Why did Ted have a New York bank account if he was only here for a month? But then she wondered if he'd made some arrangement with the bank after his wallet was stolen. She aside the disturbing thought that he might be here for longer than a month. That was just too terrifying to contemplate.

She left the bank and called her friend Christina Mizanin on her cell phone as she walked through the park back to the museum.

"Emily was an angel as usual." Christina said once they had greeted each other. "How was your cocktail party?"

"It was stressful."

"Well you were thrown right in the deep end." Christina consoled her. "I would hate to have to step into someone else's shoes like that at the last minute."

Rebekah chewed her bottom lip for a moment before asking. "Christina, I have some…er…work stuff to see to this evening. I know it's a terrible imposition, but do you think you could keep Emily for another night? Something's...cropped up."

"Of course." Christina said. "Hey, you sound upset. Is everything okay?"

Rebekah hated lying to her friend but there was no way she could tell Christina about Emily's father being in New York or at least not yet. "I am a bit. You know how I told you my boss Jerry Lawler is having a heart procedure done?

"Yes, that was a shock, wasn't it? Is he going to be all right?"

As far as I know, but as a result of him being out of action I've been handed a whole lot more responsibility for the next month. I have to put in some extra hours and attend one or two functions in the evenings."

"You know I am always happy to help. Rebekah, we have to stick together. Jayla loves having Emily here and to tell you the truth, two is better than one. You know how only children can be so demanding at times. The girls play so well together it gives me time to catch up on my dressmaking."

"So you really don't mind?"

"Of course not! But if you don't want to disrupt Emily's home routine night after night I can always get my mother to come over to your place and babysit." Christina offered. "You know how much she adores Emily and she certainly won't expect payment so you needn't worry on that."

Rebekah wished she could have taken up on the generous offer but with Jennie coming and going from her place in various states of disarray, she couldn't bear the explanations that would be necessary, especially to a woman of Christina's mother's generation.

"I wouldn't want to bother your mom. Besides it's only a few nights and as you said Emily loves being with Jayla. I'll pop over before I leave for my function tonight to tuck Emily in okay?"

"Don't worry about a thing. You just concentrate on the job at hand. I'm sure you're going to totally wow them at your thingy tonight."

Yeah right, Rebekah grimaced as she stuffed her phone back into her shoulder bag. The last thing she wanted was to wow anybody and certainly not Ted DiBiase.

"I can't believe you're doing this to me." Rebekah was close to screaming at her sister as she was rushing to get ready for her meeting with Ted. She was going to be late as it was, having spent time with Emily before she'd raced back to her apartment to tidy herself up a bit. Her little daughter had been over-tired and a bit tearful and Rebekah had felt so torn, having to leave her when it was clear Emily wanted to be with her. Jennie turning up on the doorstep with a yet another plea for money had been the last straw.

"I just want fifty bucks." Jennie pouted at her.

Rebekah turned from the mirror where she was trying to insert an earring. "Yes but for what?"

Jennie gave a shrug. "Food and stuff."

"There's food in the kitchen, help yourself."

"Come on, Becky. I'll pay you back."

"If you so much as dare to hand me money you've earned by sleeping with…" She stopped, suddenly realizing how hypocritical she was sounding.

"What's with you this evening? You're like a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs."

Rebekah straightened her spine. "I'm going out."

Jennie's eyes popped. "With a man?"

"Yes, just the one actually, nothing quite like your turnover, I'm afraid."

"So who is he?"

"I don't have time to go into detail. I'm running late."

"You should be careful who you go out with Becky. There are some real creeps out there. I wouldn't want you to get into any trouble...

Rebekah rolled her eyes. "I know what I'm doing." She slipped on her shoes and smooth out her simple black dress.

Jennie got up and followed her out. "And don't accept any drinks from anyone unless they have been opened in front of you or you've seen them be in poured in front of you. You could get spike with a drug."

"Why? In case I get addicted just like you?"

There was tense silence. Jennie turned away making Rebekah's insides twist with guilt. "I'm sorry..." She began.

"No, you're right. I'm an addict and I wish to God I wasn't. I just can't seem to get on top of it. I try and try but it's so hard."

"Will you go to the clinic I suggested?" Rebekah urged. "I've downloaded the details from the web and I've got the money to pay for it on my credit card."

Jennie rolled her lips together without answering. "I had a conversation with the man whose wallet you stole." Rebekah began.

"That arrogant pig." Jennie screwed her face up in disgust. "How'd he find you?"

"That's immaterial. But he said he was going to press charges."

"Let him. See if I care."

"Jennie, six weeks in prison, let alone six months or six years would kill you. You know it would. Look what it did to Dad. I want you to get out of town as soon as possible. You were lucky the police didn't find you last night. The clinic is totally confidential and totally remote and secure. No one will find you there. I'll make sure of it."

Jennie let out a little sigh. "I guess I have no choice."

"You don't unless you're ready to face the consequences of what you did. This way you can get away while the dust settles and detox at the same time. In a month, you'll be a new woman. I guarantee it."

"All right."

Rebekah's heart leapt in relief. "Really?"

Jennie looked down at her bruised pin-pricked arms and gave a rueful grimace. "Yeah….I'm ready to get sorted out. Besides, I'm running out of veins."

Rebekah gave her a bone crushing hug. "I'm proud of you, Jennie. I know you can beat this. And you don't have to face it alone. I'll be with you every step of the way."

"I don't know why you're stuck by me this long. Most sisters would've given up long ago?"

"I would do anything to get you well again. Do you understand? Absolutely anything."

"Thanks."

Rebekah gave her a hug. "I'll see you later. Have something to eat and watch some TV or something. You can share my bed or sleep in Emily's as she's staying with Christina and Jayla tonight. That way we can get you to the clinic first thing in the morning."

"Thanks, I hope your date goes well." Jennie called out as Rebekah bolted for the door. She gave a teasing smile and added. "But don't' let him kiss you, got that? I don't want you turning into a slut or anything."

Rebekah stretched her mouth into a smile. "Got that." She said and closed the door.

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	6. Chapter 6

The hotel bar was crowded but Rebekah could feel the magnetic tug of Ted's gaze as soon as she entered. He was standing head and shoulders above everyone else, a drink of some sort in his hand and his usual inscrutable look on his face. Nerves fluttered like a handful of moths in her stomach as she walked to where he was standing, her tongue sneaking out to run over her lips as she met the twin blue pools of his gaze.

"Would you like a drink?" He asked without so much as a greeting, his eyes running over her possessively.

She raised her chin in pride. "I would like you to greet me as if I was a normal date. I do have a name, you know."

His blue eyes held hers for a moment then, placing his glass to one side with an exactitude she found a little unnerving, he took her by the upper arms and tugging her towards his hard body, planted a hot, moist brandy-flavored kiss to her mouth.

"Hello Rebekah." He drawled.

She stumbled backwards when he released her, her face aflame. "I didn't mean like that."

He raised his brows. "Would you have preferred me to caress you as well?"

She let out a hissing breath and ground out in an undertone. "I would prefer not to be here at all. Having you paw me in public would be the ultimate in degradation."

A warning flickered in his blue eyes as they locked with hers. "Careful, Rebekah. I wouldn't want to have to spoil this evening by calling the police. Where is your sister, by the way?"

"I don't know where she is." She lied. "I haven't seen her."

"Well when you do see her, perhaps you can give her message. Her attempt to use one of my credit cards earlier today has left a trace a mile wide for the authorities to follow. When my wallet was stolen I cancelled all but one of them. Of course I lowered the limit available on it but I wanted to see if she would take the bait and—just like you four years ago—she did."

Rebekah felt her heart lurch sideways in her chest. Was there to be no end to this torture?

"But of course I am willing to overlook that little indiscretion if you behave yourself." He added smoothly.

"I can only apologize on my sister's behalf. She has some emotional problems and I'm doing my best to help her through them."

"What sort of emotional problems?"

Rebekah could feel the weight of his gaze as she fixed her eyes on the woodwork of the bar. "Depression…that sort of thing…our mother died three years ago. She's still missing her terribly."

Ted signaled for the bartender's attention. He didn't want to have his heart-strings pulled by what was very probably yet another outright lie. As much as he was familiar with grief, he'd seen her sister when she'd propositioned him and she hadn't looked too depressed to him. She'd been bouncy, flirtatious and carefree, her eyes even brighter than her smile.

"What would you like to drink?" He asked again as the bartender approached them.

"Water." She answered without looking at him.

"Nothing stronger?"

"No."

"You want to keep a clear head so you can keep track of your lies, eh, Rebekah?"

Her eyes flew back to his in a startled glance. "No…I—I just don't want to drink and drive."

"You should have caught a cab."

"I can't afford it."

"I just gave you a considerable sum of money. Surely you haven't spent it already?"

Not until I get home and book my sister's clinic stay, Rebekah thought with another rush of relief that Jennie was actually going to get clean at last. It would be worth every moment of agony ted put her through to see her sister put her addiction behind her and develop her full potential, perhaps even return her studies. Jennie had showed such promise as a young university student. She had topped all of her grades in the science degree she had enrolled in but it had all come to a grinding halt once she had tasted the compulsive poison of heroin.

"No." She said into the little silence. "But it intrigued me when I deposited the check as to why you would have a New York bank account. I don't' see why you'd go to that bother if you're only here for a month."

"I have some business interests here." He informed her. "This trip, though short, will not be my last."

Rebekah nearly choked on her sip of water. "Business interests? Here?"

"Yes. Apart from my own investment firm in London and helping my mother with the DiBiase Foundation and the gallery in Rome, I have some investments in a New York company."

"What sort of company?" She curled her lip and added. "Shipping?"

He smiled at her sarcastic expression. "Now that would be too clichéd?"

"I thought all billionaires had an interest in shipping one way or the other."

"I have a yacht, as you may recall from your stay. But no, I prefer to keep my investments on solid ground. I have bought a small Queensland Island from a private owner. I plan to develop an exclusive Greek-style resort."

"This is New York, not Greece. Anything you do here will be a cheap imitation of the real thing."

It will certainly not be cheap. Not for me in terms of development or indeed for those who wish to stay there once it is completed. It will be a haven for the very rich, no one else need apply."

Rebekah looked away from his handsome features. When he smiled like that it stirred memories she didn't' want stirred. The first thing she had loved about him four years ago had been his smile. It had brightened his eyes with warmth that had melted her completely—the same warmth her tiny daughter had exhibited less than an hour and a half ago when her little arms had wrapped around her neck, her soft little mouth pressing loving moist kisses to her cheek.

"Perhaps I will take you there when it is done.

"You're not serious, surely? I mean…this month…this thing we're…er…doing…it's only for a month, right?"

He tilted his head at her. "I have been doing some thinking. What if we were to see each other every time I come to New York?"

Her eyes flashed back at him. "What if I tell you to go to hell?"

He laughed and drained the rest of his drink. "Then I would have to think of a way of convincing you to change your mind."

Rebekah put her glass down with a clunk on the bar. "We agreed on a month and that's all you're getting."

He placed his empty glass right next to hers. "Then let's get on with it." He reached for her hand, pulling her to her feet.

She had no choice but to follow him. His fingers were like steel around hers, the underlying strength reminding her against going head to head battle with him, especially in such a public place. Panic began to claw at her insides. She couldn't do this. Not now. Not ever. She couldn't sell herself to him. Not like this. How on earth did her sister do this with perfect strangers? She wondered sickly, Rebekah at least had loved Ted once…but it still didn't make it right, especially when he had no idea he had fathered a child.

In her escalating dread she considered telling him—perhaps then he would think twice about sleeping with her. But then, she reminded herself, he would think nothing of removing Emily from her custody. He had already demonstrated his ruthlessness; how much more ruthless would he become once he found out he had a child?

The lift arrived with a chiming ping and he ushered her in with a firm hand on the small of her back.

"I—I'm not ready for this." She said trying to ease out of his hold. "It's too soon."

"It's not soon enough." He contradicted. "I should have let you service me in the limousine last night. I was thinking of your dancing little hot breath and your flicking tongue all last night. I hardly slept at all."

His words set off an erotic response in her body she couldn't control. She felt the seeping nectar of need between her thighs and her breasts started to prickle against the lace of her bra.

The lift opened on his floor and he escorted her into his penthouse, closing the door once they were inside with a finality that terrified her.

"Please, Ted…" She struggled to contain her emotions. "Please give me some time…I'm not…I'm out of practice. I haven't had a lover since…I mean, for a long time…I don't even know if I can…you know…do it any more…"

Ted had to fight his urge to laugh at her paltry attempt to hoodwink him. Hadn't she done this little routine before? The virginal shyness had all been a ruse and he wasn't so foolish as to fall for it second time.

"I am sure you will quickly recall the necessary steps." He said. "You were a fast learner in the past—that is, in fact, if you were indeed learning as you claimed."

"Please…" Her eyes were bright with moisture. "Please give me tonight to just talk with you...to get to know you again...before we…do anything else..."

Ted compressed his lips, torn between wanting her and feeling something he didn't want to feel. She was so very beautiful, her skin like smooth cream, her shoulder-length blond hair like silk, her striking blue eyes luminous and her body a temptation he found hard to resist. She had lost the youthful coltish look she'd had when she'd been in London. Her body now at the age of twenty-six was riper, more mature, but, if anything, even more feminine. Her breasts were fuller and her soft curves so alluring he could feel himself hardening just thinking about sinking into her hot slippery warmth.

"You are very convincing." He conceded. "But I am not fooled. You are buying time. What do you hope to achieve, Rebekah—another attempt at stealing from me?"

"No, of course not…" It was only as she said the words that she realized how incriminating they sounded. "I—I mean I didn't steal from you in the first place."

She could see that he didn't believe her. The suspicion glittered in his eyes as they held hers.

"All right, we will do things your way. But I am only doing so to see what deceitful little ploy you come up with next."

"Thank you…" She choked back a sob and rummaged in her bag for a tissue.

He frowned at the relief in her tone. It didn't sit comfortably with him to have her so stricken at the thought of his touch, especially when last night she had responded to him with such heated fervor. He had temporarily unleashed the passionate woman she was, but now she was hiding it from him, shrinking away from him as if she had something to hide...Or something else to gain, he reminded himself cynically.

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	7. Chapter 7

Rebekah blew her nose and sniffed once or twice to get herself back in control. "I'm sorry, Ted. This is not what you paid in terms of company."

"No but you and I both know it is only a matter of time before we both get what we want." He said with arrogant confidence. "How is your boss by the way?"

"He's doing well. I called his wife this afternoon. He came through the angioplasty well but it will be a week or two before he's ready to return to work."

"He spoke very highly of you. In all of my correspondence with him over the last few months, he has been glowing in his praise." He turned looked at her. "I found it hard to believe we were speaking about the same person."

"I told you before I haven't changed, Ted."

"No, that is something I am very sure of." He said his gaze hardening with bitterness. "You still the same person you were when you came to London."

"I did not steal those sculptures or anything else from your mother."

"So you keep saying but you were the only one who could have done so." He said. "If you remember, you were given on that day and the ones preceding it, the total responsibility of the gallery. My mother trusted you implicitly. You betrayed that trust."

"I don't know how that sculpture came to be in my bag, but I swear to God I didn't put it there. As for the other things found in my room at the hostel. I wasn't responsible."

"Are you forgetting the surveillance cameras we had placed strategically in the gallery? You were caught on film putting something in your bag on the day in question."

She blew out a breath of frustration. She had told him all his before. Why wouldn't he believe her? "I was putting my phone away! My mother had texted me and I heard the phone beeping. I checked my messages but then a customer came into the gallery and I had to wait to put my phone back. That's what you saw on your stupid cameras. Why don't you run a check on the customer? Maybe they did."

"The customer in question was a tourist from Scotland. I have already done the necessary checks. She is a grandmother from Fife who attends church every Sunday. She didn't steal the statue, Rebekah."

Rebekah felt her shoulders drop in defeat. There was no way of proving her innocence. It hurt unbearably that he thought her capable of such a betrayal of trust. She had loved working at the gallery; some of the items were so exquisite it had made her feel so privileged to have been left with the responsibility of looking after them. The collection of ancient and modern works Ted's father had gathered over a lifetime had been a wonderful opportunity for her to complete her study. The thought of stealing any item from such an amazing collection was against everything she believed in. She had no idea how and why such precious items had turned up in her bag and in her room. As far as she knew, she'd made no enemies while staying in London. Even the two young men at the hostel were the last people she would have expected to show that level of malice. Everyone had been so friendly and welcoming, especially Ted's mother whom Rebekah had considered a friend virtually from the word go.

"I don't care what you think Ted. I honored your mother's trust in me. I would never have betrayed her or you. I was there to do some research for my degree. When I met you in that restaurant that night I had no idea who you were. At first I thought you were one of the archaeologists working."

"Which is why you set about charming me, was it not? You were on a mission. You had a goal in sight and nothing was going to stop you from achieving it. You were systematically removing items from the collection to sell on the black market. It has been done before and much money made out of it. All you had to do was get into my family's good books and your task was made all the easier."

"I can't make you believe anything other than what you want to believe. I know you think I'm guilty, but the only thing I'm guilty of is trusting you too much. I thought we had a solid relationship. I thought that even though we had met and developed strong feelings for each other in a short time it would be enough to withstand anything. I was wrong."

He gave her a disgusted look. "You were not in love with me. You pretended with the skill of an accomplished actor but I know now what wool you pulled over my eyes."

She looked at him in despair, her voice unable to rise above a distraught whisper. "You really hate me don't you, Ted?"

His eyes burned into hers. "What else do you expect me to feel for you? Love?"

"No…." she lowered her gaze. "No, of course not…but hating me for something I didn't do is so unjust."

"It might interest you to know that I was close to falling in love with you four years ago—the closet I had ever been with anyone before or since. I was even prepared to go against the tradition of my family and offer you marriage but you showed your true colors just in time."

Rebekah had been well aware of the expectation that he would marry from within his own culture when the time was right. His mother had hinted at it gently from time to time, although she had seemed quite happy for him to indulge his passion with Rebekah and had even at times encouraged it. Melanie had told her that a man in his late twenties needed his freedom to prepare for the long road of commitment ahead. Her husband, Ted had been several years older than her and had enjoyed his playboy lifestyle to the fullest before finally settling down.

Ted's sister, Kelly had been slightly less than enthusiastic about Rebekah's affair with her brother, but to her credit she had still always reminded friendly and polite. Rebekah had realized that Kelly was used to having her brother's attention. He clearly adored her and lavished her with attention whenever he could. However when his affair with Rebekah became more intense, as his sister she'd had to take a back seat in his affections. But, as for her showing any sort of spite, Rebekah had never once seen or heard anything that would make her believe that Kelly was anything other than a lovely young woman who worshipped her older brother.

It was hard to believe that the young girl was now dead. As soon as Rebekah had heard Ted had set up the DiBiase Foundation in her memory, she had been totally shocked. Kelly DiBiase had been so vibrant, so full of life. It didn't seem possible that she was lying now in a cold grave.

It was equally heartbreaking now to realize that Ted had been close to falling in love with her and had intended to ask her to marry him, but instead she had been accused of theft. She had not even had time to protest her innocence with any degree of conviction as Ted had made it clear she was to leave London immediately or face the authorities. He hadn't even listened when she had told him she thought she might be pregnant. He had dismissed her callously, claiming he never wanted to see her again and that any child she was expecting couldn't possibly be his. His anger had been monumental and his threats so terrifying that she had decided against going through the harrowing process of facing the police and the deportment authorities. Instead she had boarded the next available flight to New York, her heart shattered and the course of her life changed forever when the following month it had been confirmed that she had not left empty-handed after all. She had taken a part of Ted with her…

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	8. Chapter 8

The room service meal arrived and was soon set up. They each sat down at the table and began eating. The silence of the room stayed for a few minutes.

"You mentioned earlier that your mother died three years ago. Was it sudden?" He asked as they sat there.

"Yes and no… she was ill for a few months, but death is always sudden, even when you're expecting it to occur. I was so sorry to hear of Kelly's death. That must have been very hard on you and your mother."

"It was. It is still hard to believe she is gone."

"What happened?"

"She became tired and run down over a period of several months. She had blood tests taken but nothing showed up. She went to the hospital and had a chest x-ray done and it showed lymphoma. She was dead within nine months. The aggressive chemotherapy was supposed to prolong her life. In the end it ended it. She caught pneumonia and slipped away."

Rebekah felt the prickle of tears for what he must have suffered. His mother, Melanie would have been devastated, she was sure. Giving birth to her own daughter had made Rebekah realize the depth and breadth of parental love. After all, wasn't that why she was sitting opposite the man who had fathered Emily so she could protect her, even if it cost her everything she had, including her self-respect?

"I'm very sorry. She was a lovely girl."

"My mother is now very keen for me to marry and have children. But so far I have resisted."

"You don't think it's time for you to settle down?"

"I am only twenty-nine years old. I would have thought there was plenty of time for me to play the field for a little longer."

Rebekah couldn't hold his gaze. "So, like most me, you want to have your cake and eat it too."

"What about you, Rebekah?" He asked. "You are twenty-six. I would have thought you would have found yourself a rich husband by now."

"It may surprise you, Ted but I'm not interested in having a rich husband or indeed any sort of husband."

"So like me, you prefer to play the field?"

She frowned. "No…no, of course not. I hate the shallow short-term relationships that seem to be so commonplace these days."

His mouth tilted in cynicism. "And yet you agreed to this short-term affair with me, did you not?"

She gave him an embittered look. "You left me with no choice. Do you really think I'd be sitting opposite you now if I'd had any say in the matter?"

Anger flared in his eyes. "The way I see it, I gave you plenty of choice. You had the choice of seeing your sister arrested or spending time with me, which I might remind you I paid for very dearly. But if you want to put an end to this right now, I will not stop you. You can return my check and your sister can face the prosecution she deserves."

A vision of her sister sitting injecting herself stopped Rebekah from telling him where to put his check. She sat stiffly in her chair, her appetite completely gone as the bars of her own prison began to close in on her.

"Nothing to say, Rebekah?"

"I have plenty to say but you've put a lock on my tongue, remember? I have to be polite and charming to you even though you can insult me any time you like. It's hardly what I'd call a level playing field."

"I would treat you with respect if I thought you were worthy of it." He clipped out, his mouth tight with anger. "You betrayed my trust and I will not forget that. The very same lips that kissed mine lied to me time and time again."

"I have never lied to you." As soon as she said the words Rebekah felt her color run up under her skin. Of course she had lied to him! She was lying to him now and felt sure he could sense it.

His eyes narrowed as they clashed with hers. "You lied to me this evening, Rebekah and I can prove it."

His words sent an icy chill down her spine but she forced herself to project an outward calm. "Oh really?"

"Yes, you told me you had no idea where your sister was."

"I don't."

"I can make one phone call and prove your mendacity."

She felt her throat begin to tighten in panic, her breath catching in the middle of her chest as she did her best to hold his challenging gaze.

"You see, Rebekah. I have been keeping a close eye on you."

Rebekah reassured herself that Emily was safe at Christina's. She had been for two days in a row. There was no possible way he could know about her existence. But Jennie was another matter. She lowered her eyes and accepted defeat, hoping it would keep him away from the truth.

"All right…I admit it." She said. "I lied to you about Jennie. She came around to see me this evening."

"No doubt to share the spoils of her theft with you."

Her eyes came back to his. "I had nothing to do with the theft of your wallet."

"At the very real risk of repeating of myself, I am afraid I do not believe you."

She tossed her napkin aside and got to her feet. "I'd like to leave."

His eyes locked on hers. "You will leave when I give you permission to do so."

"So, along with blackmail, you're now into abduction as well, are you?"

"And bondage if it is called for." He said as he stood up from his chair and came toward her.

Rebekah started to back away. "You can't hold me against my will."

"Ah, but it will not be against your will. You will be begging to stay, I guarantee it."

"You promised me you wouldn't do this tonight. You gave me your word."

He smiled as he came closer. "So I lied. Doesn't everyone now and again?"

Rebekah felt the back of her knees come up against the huge bed and panicked. "I can't do this, Ted. I'm not on the pill."

"I have protection and, if that is not enough insurance for you, then we could always think of other ways to amuse ourselves." He suggested as his thighs brushed against hers. He took her hand and held it against him, his blue eyes holding hers meaningfully. "You loved to do so in the past, remember?"

Rebekah could feel the pulse of his body beneath her fingertips and her heart rate began to accelerate. She had to get out of here before she betrayed herself. How could she agree to such an intimate act when he hated her so vehemently?

"I—I can't do this…." Her voice broke on a sob. "I just can't…" Another sob followed the first then another until she was crying uncontrollably, her hands going up to her face, her whole body shaking with emotion.

Ted pulled her into his arms and held her close, her shuddering sobs reverberating through his chest. He was shocked by how distressed she sounded. It made him feel as if he had missed something somewhere. He wasn't sure how to handle her in such a state. Had seeing him again brought her guilt back with a vengeance? Perhaps she had tried to put that part of her life to one side and seeing him again had brought it all back.

"Rebekah, do not distress yourself like this." He said against her fragrant cloud of hair. "We have done this before, many times in the past."

She looked up into his eyes, her bottom lip still trembling. "But not like this…not so cold-bloodedly. Do you have to hate me this much?"

He gave her a rueful smile. "You think I need to tone it down a bit?"

She tried to give him an answering tremulous little smile but it fell a little short of the mark. "Maybe just a little bit…"

He let out a sigh and brought her back against his chest, his voice rumbling against her breasts. "Surprising as it may seem, I do not hate you, Rebekah. I desire you, I cannot seem to turn it off, even though I want to."

Rebekah retreated into the haven of silence.

"You think me a barbarian and a savage for forcing you here but I was prepared to do anything to have you in my arms again." He went on. "But I can see you are feeling compromised as well you should."

If only he knew how compromised she felt, Rebekah thought.

"So I have come to a decision." He said, releasing her to look at her upturned face. "I will give you a couple more days to prepare yourself for our relationship."

Rebekah blinked at him. "You mean…I don't have to…"

"No. Not tonight."

She ran her tongue over her dry lips, her emotions see-sawing between disappointment and relief. She couldn't understand her reaction to his offer of a short reprieve. It wasn't as if she still loved him. He had killed those feelings with his ruthless treatment of her in the past, but still..

She caught her bottom lip with her teeth. "But you paid me to be your partner for this evening."

"I have not forgotten our deal." He said. "I am just allowing you some breathing space."

"I'll pay it back." Rebekah didn't know how she would do it, but she determined she would definitely pay it back.

"Yes, indeed you will." He said with chilling implacability. "I want you and I am prepared to wait a day or two until you are ready to come to me willingly."

She stood uncertainly before him torn between wanting to bolt and to stay and feel the magic of his touch once more. She twisted her hands together. "Ted…I don't know what to say…."

"What I would like you to say is that you will have lunch me with tomorrow."

She shifted from one foot to the other. "Um…."

"You do have a lunch hour, do you not?"

"Yes but I don't think…"

"Just lunch, Rebekah. Nothing else for now."

For now. Rebekah suppressed a tiny shiver as the ominous sound of those two little words seared her soul. She couldn't help feeling that he was toying with her, allowing her a brief glimpse at freedom before snatching it away again. Being with him in any context was flirting with danger. She considered rejecting his invitation but was worried that by doing so he would withdraw his temporary reprieve and insist on her staying this evening. She couldn't risk it. But lunch would certainly be a whole lot easier than dinner, she reasoned. Emily would be at day care all day, which meant she wouldn't have to call upon Christina to babysit.

"All right…." She said after a little silence. "Lunch will be fine."

"I will meet you on the steps of the museum at one p.m. Is that convenient?"

"Yes…" She swallowed the uneven lump in her throat and met his eyes once again. "So...so you're not going to withdraw your sponsorship for the exhibition?"

His blue eyes held no trace of the warmth she craved. "I am still thinking about it, Rebekah. It depends on many things."

Her teeth worried her lip again. "Wh—what sort of things?"

He studied her for a seemingly endless interval. "I am still making up my mind about you. Whatever you might have done in the past, it seems reasonable to conclude you would not be in such a responsible position now if you had not proven yourself to be trustworthy."

Hope brightened in her eyes. "So you finally believe me when I say I didn't steal those things from your mother's gallery?"

He took another long moment to answer, his gaze holding hers as if he was still weighing up the pros and cons of her innocence. "As I told you earlier, I have not yet made up my mind."

It wasn't quite the answer she was hoping for, but she knew it would have to suffice. There was no way of proving her innocence and the only way forward was to let it go. It was a black mark against her name but it seemed there was nothing she could do to remove it. Her heart flutter as his firm warm fingers enveloped hers. He drew her closer to him, his chest brushing against her breasts, his mouth so near hers that his warm breath felt like a caress on her up tilted face.

"Your mouth is still the most kissable mouth I have ever seen." He said his voice low and deep. "I have thought of it many times over the years."

"Y—you have?"

"Yes."

His lips connected with hers in a kiss as soft as feather down but it was enough to set fire to her soul. She felt the rush of need like a river of flame along her nerve-endings, each one screaming out for more of his touch. His tongue met hers with a flicker of need that sent a shockwave through her entire body. Her breasts came alive as his hands moved up along her ribcage to shape them, her stomach caving in with delight at the feel of his possessive touch. Her mouth was on fire under the onslaught of his, the stroke and glide of his tongue setting her alight with aching need. Her body secretly prepared itself, the deep throb of wanting making her whimper as he began to suckle on her bottom lip. She felt the sexy rasp of his tongue against hers and the scrape of his teeth as his kiss became more and more urgent. His tongue drove into the warm cave of her mouth again and again, reminding her of all the times he had driven into her with his hardened arousal, the thickness of his desire sending her senses on a rollercoaster ride of ecstasy.

How she had missed the wild abandoned excitement. Her body felt alive with sizzling sexual energy, each nerve within her tingling with fully charged responses to his touch. He broke the kiss to look down at her with desire still burning in his eyes.

"This is probably a good time to stop."

"Yes…yes…I guess it is…"

"Where did you park your car—in the hotel car park downstairs?"

"No…I parked a few streets away."

"Then I will walk you down."

Rebekah's heart gave a sudden lurch. Emily's child booster seat was in the back of her car. "NO!"

"NO?"

"I just don't want you to see my car."

"Alright." He kissed her again and showed her out.

"Jennie?" Rebekah called out as soon as she got back to the apartment. "I'm home."

A chill ran down her spine when there was no answer. She dropped her bag and called out again, but the apartment was eerily quiet. She checked each of the rooms but it wasn't until she got to her bedroom that she saw the note stuck on her laptop computer screen.

Sorry, Becky. I know you're going to hate me but I'm just not ready. Forgive me J.

Rebekah peeled off the note with a sinking heart, the sharp edges of the papers sticking into the soft skin of her palm. She tossed it in the bin but the movement of her hand against her little desk disturbed the computer mouse and the computer screen came to life.

She stared at her internet banking details, her stomach churning in despair when she realized what her sister had done.

"Oh, Jennie…" She cried out in frustration. "How could you do this to me?"

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	9. Chapter 9

"You look nice today?" Kendall said as she ran into Rebekah in the ladies' room following day. "Are you going out to lunch?"

Rebekah recapped her lipstick and rolled her lips together before answering. "Yes, I am actually."

"The billionaire?" Kendall guessed with a knowing smile.

Rebekah frowned as she turned to face her colleague. "You haven't been talking to him, have you?"

"No, why?"

"Listen, Kendall." She lowered her voice conspiratorially. "Remember we discussed the other evening how Mr. DiBiase and I had met before?"

"Yes, in London, right?"

"Well…it's important you don't talk to him about me. I don't want him to know I'm a single mother."

"You think he'll be put off if he knows you've got a little kid?" Kendall asked.

"You know what men are like these days." Rebekah said, turning back to the mirror to inspect her make-up rather than meet her colleague's eyes.

Kendall gave a deep sigh of agreement as she leaned against the basin. "Tell me about it. What is it with men and commitment?"

"Exactly." Rebekah said, relieved she didn't have to go lengthy explanations.

Kendall gave her a probing look. "He's not Emily's father, is he?"

"No." Rebekah felt like kicking herself for answering so quickly when she saw the way her colleague's brows rose above her eyes.

Kendall pursed her mouth thoughtfully. "So you're just doing lunch?'

"Yes, just lunch."

"Does he want to see you again?"

"Maybe…I'm not sure…" Rebekah comforted herself that it was at least the truth. She had no idea what Ted wanted from her. She couldn't quite believe he had temporarily freed her from his previous demands, but for some reason she still felt compromised. She knew it was incredibly dangerous being around him but she couldn't seem to help herself. She was becoming addicted to his smile, not to mention that kiss….

"But what do you want?" Kendall asked, as if tapping into her thoughts. "You said you were involved with him before. Do you still feel anything for him?"

"I can't afford to feel anything for him. I have a child and he's a playboy. The two don't go together."

"You know you could always just tell him about Emily and see what happens."

"No. He's only going to be here for a month."

"What if he finds out some other way? Won't he think you're a bit weird, keeping it from him?"

"He won't find out. I'm going to make sure of it."

Kendall pushed herself away from the basin. "Well, for a start you'd better take all those photos of your daughter off the desk in your office." She advised. "Ted DiBiase might not be Emily's father but he sure as hell looks like he could be. Even if he doesn't see the likeness, others certainly will."

Rebekah stared at her reflection once the door had closed on Kendall's exit, the panic in her eyes widening them to the size of dinner plates. If Rebekah was already suspicious, what hope did she have with anyone else, including Ted himself?

He was waiting for her when she came out of the museum a short time later and her heart gave a little kick in her chest at the sight of him dressed in a charcoal-grey suit. He gave her a smile as he looked down at her.

"Hello, Rebekah."

She returned his smile with a shy one of her own. "Hello….."

His finger under her chin brought her wandering gaze back to his blue eyes. "Have you forgotten my name?"

"No, of course not…"

"Say it, Rebekah."

She felt her stomach give a little quiver. "Ted."

His mouth tipped upwards in a satisfied smile as his hand fell away. "I like the way you say my name. No one else says it quite the way you do. You sort of breathe it out of your mouth in a husky little whisper."

Rebekah could feel the heat seeping into her cheeks and looked away again. "We'd better get going; I've only got an hour and with Jerry still off sick I've got extra work to do."

She fell into step beside him as they headed to lunch, her heart racing each time his arm brushed against hers. Her fingers itched to slip into the warmth of his hand and, to stop herself from being tempted; she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Are you cold?" Ted asked.

"No."

"Here take my jacket." He slipped it from his shoulders and draped it around her. "The wind is chilly. I heard there is going to be snow this evening."

Rebekah felt her insides twist as she thought of the clinic Jennie should have been in by now. She had lain awake for most of the night, imagining her sister shooting up all of Ted's money. She didn't want to give up on her own flesh and blood but she was starting to realize that Jennie—like their father—was fast moving past the point of no return.

"Feeling better?" Ted asked.

Rebekah could barely look at him for the guilt she was feeling. "Yes…thank you…" She huddled into his jacket, breathing in his scent as the lingering warmth of his body on the expensive fabric encompassed her slim frame.

The restaurant was busy but the maitre d escorted them to a quiet table in one corner. Rebekah examined the menu, hoping it would stimulate her appetite, but every time she saw the price of a meal she was reminded of how empty all of her accounts now were.

"You look worried." Ted observed. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

He smiled at her too rapid response. "Yes, there is; I can see it on your face. I said it was just lunch, okay? No strings. I will even let you pay half if that makes you feel more comfortable."

"No! er…I mean, that's not the problem…."

He leaned forward slightly. "What is the problem?"

"I'm just finding this...a little difficult…"

"You and me?"

Her eyes met his briefly. "Yes…we haven't seen each other in almost four years…I don't know what to say to you…"

"Tell me about your life." He said, leaning back as the waiter placed water and bread rolls on the table.

"My life?"

He gave her an ironic look. "You do have one, do you not?"

She looked down at the table. "I'm sure it's pretty boring compared to yours."

"What about relationships?" He asked. "Do you have a serious boyfriend?"

"I would hardly have agreed to spend time with you if I had." She pointed out with a wry glance in his direction.

"You think I am an arrogant bastard, do you not?"

Rebekah saw no reason to spare to his feelings. "Yes."

"I was surprised at how seeing you again brought it all back?"

"Brought all what back?"

"No one has ever made me feel the way you do."

"I'm sure you're just saying that."

He reached for her hand and enclosed it in the warm temptation of his. "I mean it, Rebekah. I want you as much as I ever did and you want me. I can see it in your eyes every time you look at me. There's a hunger there that tells me no one has been able to satisfy you the way I did."

She pulled her hand out of his. "You broke my heart, Ted. I'm not going back into the ring."

He frowned as he sat back in his seat. "Come on, Rebekah. You know I had no choice but to believe you were responsible. Every finger of blame pointed to you."

Bitterness sharpened her gaze as it connected with his. "You had a choice to believe me but you chose not to."

He let out a sigh. "I have agonized over it for the last four years but I keep coming back to the same point—if you did not steal those sculptures, then who did?"

"I don't know but someone didn't like the fact that you and I were an item. What about your childhood sweetheart, the woman you were expected to marry?"

"Olivia Logan?"

"Yes. She came into the gallery with Kelly a few times. She was a brooding sort, I always thought. She could easily have done it."

"Olivia would never have done something so despicable." He insisted. "She is one of the most kindhearted people I know. She helped nurse my sister for months and she has been a wonderful support to my mother since Kelly died."

"Then why haven't you married her?" She asked. "She clearly expected you to."

He tapped his fingers on the stem of his wine glass for a moment. "That is a good question."

"Are you going to answer it?"

His eyes came back to hers. "Eve gave up on me a while ago. She married a cousin of mine. I think you might have met him once—Randy Orton. I believe she is already expecting their first child."

Rebekah hoped her surprise wasn't too evident on her face. "Did you find that hard to cope with?"

He gave a dismissive shrug. "Not really. If I had married her, it would have been a marriage of convenience in any case."

"You didn't love her?"

"I loved her in a brother sister sort of way. "He said. "But there was no spark, if you know what I mean."

Rebekah knew exactly what he meant. She could feel it now, just by sitting with her knees so close to his. She had only to stretch out her legs and the heat would explode between her thighs. She looked down at the menu again and tried to concentrate.

"What would you like to eat?"

"I'll just have the soup of the day."

"Is that all?"

"I'm not very hungry. Besides, I have to cook a proper meal when I get home, so..."

"Why do you have to cook when you get home?" He asked. "You could have a main meal now and just have a snack later."

"I like to cook."

"What is your specialty?"

She blinked at him vacuously. "Specialty?"

"Your favorite dish."

Her eyes fell away from his. "Um…it's kind of hard to choose…"

"I did not know you were so domesticated." He commented. "When we met four years ago you lived on take-out or frozen meals."

"I have since learnt the error of my ways." She said with a strained effort to smile. "Thank God for celebrity chefs. Cooking is so hip now."

"Would you cook a meal for me?"

Her eyes flared in panic. "Oh, I'm' not that good…really…I can just about manage one of those just add chicken and frozen vegetables…"

"It sounds a whole lot better than hotel food. So how about it? What about you cook for me tomorrow night?"

"I'm busy."

"The night after?"

"I—I don't cook on weekends."

"Then I will cook for you. I will bring the ingredients to your house and cook a meal that will totally stun you."

"My kitchen is tiny….and my oven and cook top don't work."

He gave her a narrow-eye look. "You do not want me to come to your house do you?"

"It's not a house it's just a rented apartment and I haven't had time to clean up for weeks."

"If your goal is to put me off, let me assure you it is doing the very opposite." He said.

Rebekah could feel the rising panic beating like a drum in her chest. She could ask Christina to babysit one more time but the apartment was full of little kid stuff. It even smelled like Emily.

"I'm not sure it's such a good idea that we see each other again." She said, actively avoiding his eyes.

The small throbbing silence should have warned her he was preparing a lethal comeback. "You are forgetting our agreement. I have paid for your company and I intend to get my money's worth."

She raised her worried gaze back to his, desperately trying to find a way out. "You're here for a short time and I have…I have someone else."

"You said there was no one in your life at present."

She forced herself to resist the urge to look away. "I was lying."

"You seem to be rather good at that." He observed.

"I don't want to complicate my life with the past. What we had is over."

He grasped her hand once more, his long fingers entrapping hers. "It's not over, Rebekah. You know it is not. How can you say it is over when there is this incredible pulse between us? I felt it that first night. As soon as our eyes met across the room, I knew you felt it too."

"It has to be over. You think I'm a thief."

"What's in the past is best left there. This is here and now. We have the chance to explore our attraction again. Let us not waste it."

She shifted her gaze again, her insides twisting in anguish. "Don't ask this of me, Ted."

"Are you in love with this other person?"

She let out a wobbly breath. "It's not that kind of love…."

"What sort of love is it?"

"It's hard to describe."

"I am sure they will understand if we spend an occasional evening together. You can tell them you are spending time with an old friend."

She was so tempted—so very tempted. "I guess a couple of nights here or there would be okay." Had she really said that? What was she thinking? It was madness to dance with such danger.

"When we met the first time around, we rushed headlong into a physical relationship. I guess that was really my fault. I saw you and I wanted you. But who knows? This time around we might become both lovers and friends."

Rebekah swallowed the scratchy contents of her throat. "Friend?"

He gave her another spine-loosening smile. "You find it hard to see me as a friend?"

"No…I'm sure you'd make a very good friend." And a deadly enemy, she reminded herself.

"Let us start by seeing each other on Monday evening. How about dinner and some dancing? I'll send a car to pick you up?"

"No."

"No?"

"I—I can make my own way." She said lowering her eyes once more.

"All right.' He said after a tiny pause. "Meet me at my hotel at seven."

"Okay…"

He smiled and raised his glass to hers. "To us being both friends and lovers."

Her glass didn't quite make the distance of his. "To being friends." She said and hoping she wasn't courting disaster, downed the contents.

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	10. Chapter 10

"Are you serious?" Christina gaped at Rebekah. "How could your own sister do that to you?"

"I know." Rebekah sighed sadly as she watched Emily bend down with Jayla to watch a bug climb up a stem of grass. "I still can't quite believe she'd go that far, but I guess that's drugs for you. Our father was exactly the same. One taste and he was lost."

"I can lend you some money if you're short." Christina offered.

"No, I'll be fine. I got paid yesterday, but thanks anyway."

Christina gave her hand a squeeze. "You've never really given up hope on her, have you?"

"She's all I have apart from Emily."

"But stealing is a crime whether it's your family you've stolen from or not. What if she's taking other people's money to feed her habit?"

"She already has." Rebekah said her expression now grim. "But she couldn't have picked a worse person to steal from."

"What do you mean?"

She turned to look at her friend. "Jennie took a man's wallet the other night but it wasn't just any ordinary everyday sort of man."

Christina's eyes widened with intrigue. "Uh-oh, this is sounding scary. Who was it? Somebody famous?"

"Even worse."

"Who?"

Rebekah took an uneven breath and said. "It was Emily's father."

"Emily's father?" Christina almost fell off the park bench. "You mean he's here in New York? I thought you said he lived in London?"

"He does but he's here for a month. He's one of the major sponsors for the exhibition. I was going to tell you but didn't know how to broach the subject." She let out a despondent breath and continued. "Jennie gate-crashed my function the other night and of all people happened to choose Ted DiBiase's wallet to steal."

"Oh, no…" Christina gave her a concerned look. "Are you going to tell him about Emily?"

"If you had asked me that a couple of days ago I would have said a resounding no…but now I'm not so sure."

"Why?"

"I didn't think he deserved to know after the way he treated me back then. He refused to believe me when I told him I suspected I was pregnant. I called him several times when I found out. I knew for sure but he hung up on me every time. I tried writing to him but the letters came back unopened. I even emailed him but he must have deleted each one without reading it. But now I can't help feeling I should have tried harder…I gave up after a few weeks but maybe I should have kept in contact until I finally got through to him."

"Do you think he'll make trouble?"

"He's a billionaire, Christina. He would only have to lift his little finger to make trouble. He could have a top-notch legal team assembled before I could even say the word custody."

"Oh, God, this is terrible."

Rebekah's expression was wry. "Believe me, it gets worse."

"How can it get any worse?"

"He wants to see me."

"You mean like on a date or something?" Christina asked, then as realization dawned she added. "Oh my God! You went out with him the other night!"

"I had to, Christina" She said. "He practically blackmailed me into it. He knew it was my sister who took his wallet and threatened to press charges if I didn't agree to see him."

"You should have told me."

"I'm sorry…I wanted to but I was so upset I couldn't think straight. I thought it best to keep things as quiet as possible. I thought I could handle it better that way, but now…"

Rebekah checked on the girls before she turned to look back at her friend. "Ted wants us to spend some time together as friends."

"Yeah, well, didn't anyone ever tell you that you can't truly be friends with an ex?" Christina said. "There are always issues, the biggest one, of course, being sex."

"I know and I don't' believe him for a moment but I thought if I spent some time with him I might be able to somehow build up enough courage to tell him about Emily. I need to establish trust between us. He still thinks I'm guilty of theft and Jennie certainly hasn't helped my cause, but if I can show him I'm worthy of his trust he might not be so angry when he finds out he has a child."

"You're going to have to work damned hard to build enough of a bond between you now to deliver that sort of bombshell."

"I know…." Rebekah felt her stomach quake at the thought.

"But I guess if he fell in love with you, you might be in with a slim chance."

"I'm not sure what he feels but I do know he wants to resume our affair. He's been very up front about that."

"What about you? Do you still have feelings for him?"

Rebekah looked back at her little daughter and sighed. "I think I hated him for several months after I left London, especially when he stubbornly refused to acknowledge my attempts to contact him. But as soon as Emily was born I've thought about him every day since I look into her eyes and I see him. And now that I've met him again it's made me realize I've been in denial about my feelings all this time. I don't' think I've ever stopped loving him, not for a moment."

"Then you'd better get him to fall in love with you again and fast. Otherwise you stand to lose not just your heart but your daughter as well."

"Can't I come wif you, mommy?" Emily asked as Rebekah prepared to leave Christina's house on Monday evening to meet Ted. "Please? I'll be berry good."

"No, not this time, darling." She bent down to her daughter's level and kissed the tip of her nose. "You and Jayla need an early night."

"But I'm not tired." Emily pouted at her.

Rebekah brushed a fingertip underneath her little daughter's blue eyes. "You've got shadows bigger than saucers under here."

"But I miss you."

Rebekah felt her heart contract. "I know, baby but I have to see a special person tonight."

"Who?" Emily's thumb crept up to her mouth. "Auntie Jennie."

"No...Someone I knew a long time ago."

"Is it my daddy?"

Rebekah stared at her daughter speechlessly. How on earth had she guessed?

"I want to see him too." Emily said. "Jayla sees her daddy lots and lots and he gives her presents and everyfing."

"I know but Jayla's daddy lives with her. Your daddy lives in another country."

"Why doesn't he send me a present?"

"Your mommy is going to be late." Christina came to her rescues as she wandered past with an armful of folded towels. "How about you and Jayla have a nice warm bath with lots of bubbles?"

Emily's face brightened as she followed Christina down the hall. "How many bubbles?"

"Oh gosh trillions and trillions."

Rebekah gave her friend a grateful smile. "I'll pick up the girls tomorrow from day care."

"Have a good time and don't forget to wear something outrageously sexy." Christina said with a little wink as she shouldered open the bathroom door.

As soon as Rebekah opened the door of her apartment she knew her sister was inside. "Ok." She said, shutting the door with a snap. "Come and face the music. You've really done it this time. I swear to God, Jennie, I could throttle you."

Jennie slunk out from the bathroom, her hallow face and darkly shadowed eyes spending a shockwave of concern through Rebekah in spite of her bristling anger.

"I'm in trouble…"

"Damn right you are." Rebekah said, pushing her concern aside. "How could you do that to me? Stealing from your own sister, for God's sake! How can you do this after what dad put us all through? Mom gave up all hope because of what he did and now you're doing the very same thing!"

"There are people after me."

"I assume you mean the police?"

"No…" Jennie folded her stick-thin arms across her sunken chest. "I owe money to some people...a lot of money. I paid back what I could—that's why I transferred the funds from your account into mine. I'm sorry but I had no choice. I'm frightened, Becky. If I don't pay it all back they're going to come after me."

Rebekah swallowed against her rising fear to stiffen her resolve. "I can't give you any more money. I want to help you but I don't trust you. For all I know, this could be another ploy of yours to get your hands on more drugs."

"I don't want any more money from you. I just need to lie low for a few days, can I stay here? Please?"

Rebekah blew out a sigh. She knew she was going to regret it but what other choice was there? "All right but you know the rules. No shooting up, no men and no smoking inside. Got that?"

"I'm sorry, Becky…about the clinic…I really wanted to go, but the dealer was making threats."

"I'm not even going to waste my time pleading with you to go. I haven't got the money now, in any case."

"I'll go back on a methadone program. I promise."

"I wish I could believe you, I really do, but I haven't got time to even listen to your empty promises. I'm meant to be meeting a friend at seven and here it is a quarter to and I'm not even dressed."

"Sorry…." Jennie slumped to the sofa and stared down at her hands.

Rebekah could feel her anger melting. "Try and get some rest and we'll talk in the morning. Emily's staying at Rebekah's. I might be late, so don't wait up."

"Is this the same guy as the other night?"

"Yes…but we're just friends."

Jennie gave a cynical little grunt. "That's what they all say."

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	11. Chapter 11

Ted was waiting for her in the bar when she arrived, flustered and with heightened color, her blonde hair half up and half down as if she'd just got out of bed but somehow on her it looked incredibly sexy, not the least bit messy.

"I'm sorry I'm late." She said meeting his eyes briefly. "It was one of those days."

"How about a drink to settle your nerves?" He suggested.

She lifted her chin at him. "I'm not nervous."

He smiled and watched as the color in her cheeks delicately spread. He lifted a finger and stroked it along the rosy curve of her face. "Yes, you are."

Her mouth twisted ruefully as she slipped on to the bar stool beside him. "All right, I admit it. I am."

"You do not need to be nervous, Rebekah." He said. "This evening is re-establish a friendship between us."

She looked at him with wide uncertain eyes. "Do you think ex-lovers can ever truly be friends?"

He looked down at her upturned face, his gaze lingering on the soft bow of her mouth. "Who knows?" He said, meeting her gaze once more. "I had every intention of giving it a try, but as soon as you walked in I wanted to take you upstairs and—"

She put a finger up to his lips to stall his speech. "Don't, please…this is hard enough without you tempting me like that."

He captured her finger and, bringing it up to his mouth, pressed his lips against it. "So you are tempted?"

She drew in a husky little breath. "A bit…"

"Only a little bit."

Her lips curved upwards in another twisted smile. "Okay, a lot."

He brought her finger back up to his mouth and sucked on it, his eyes still holding hers. Rebekah felt the tug of desire between her legs, heat exploding like a burst of fuel-driven flame. How could she have ever thought they could simply be friends? It was impossible with this need pulsing between them. She could feel it in the air as it tightened around them. She could see it in his eyes as his pupils flared and she could feel it in his touch. The touch her body remembered so well it positively ached to feel it again.

"Ted…"

"No." He used the same tactic she had done to stop herself from speaking, his finger making her lips buzz with sensation. "Listen to me. We have a past that will not go away. I can feel it like a living breathing entity between us."

"I can't give you what you want."

"Yes, you can." He insisted. "You can relieve me from this torment of longing. We were so good together. We can be so again. I know it. I feel it every time I touch you."

"Ted…." She took a breath to prepare herself. "There's something you should know…"

"I know all I need to know." He said. "You still want me. We can never be just friends, Rebekah. There is too much passion between us."

"We can't have a future unless we deal with the past."

"The past is in the past, Rebekah. I do not want to revisit it again. I believed you to be guilty of a crime you still say you did not commit. I want to believe you are incapable of lying but I think it best that we leave it at that. It bears no relevance to what is between us now."

Rebekah felt the crushing weight of her guilt press against her chest. She could hardly breathe for the unbearable load of it. She was deceiving him at this very moment.

"This is a second chance for us." He said. "I was wrong to cut off all contact with you. I see that now. It was born out of anger and pride and it served no purpose. I should have listened to your explanation. I owed you that at the very least but I was too damned proud."

"Ted...I don't know how to tell you this but—"

"Do not say you hate me, for I do not believe it." He said, interrupting her.

"No, I don't hate you, but I…" She swallowed the rest of her words.

"I know you're uneasy about us resuming our relationship. You were hurt before and no doubt still feel vulnerable, but I will try not to rush you, even though it is killing me."

She gave him a little smile in spite of her anguish. "You only have two speeds, Ted: fast and faster."  
>He grinned at her. "You know me so well even after all this time."<p>

"Excuse me, Mr. DiBiase." A hotel employee approached them. "The meal you requested is no ready in your room."

"Thank you." Ted said.

Rebekah raised her brows. "We're eating here? At the hotel?"

He took her hand and helped her from the stool. "I hope you do not mind. I wanted us to be alone."

She nervously followed him to the bank of elevators. She had been expecting a public restaurant and a dance floor with other couples, not a private intimate meal in his penthouse suite. Resisting him was going to be a whole lot harder without an audience to restrain her desire to be in his arms again.

He opened the door for her and she stepped in to see fragrant flowers in every corner of the room, candles flickering and a bottle of French champagne sitting in an ice bucket beside the table, which was set for two.

"You've gone to so much trouble. I don't know what to say…"

He pulled out a chair for her. "Come and sit down and we will enjoy the meal the chef has prepared specially."

Heat coiled her stomach at the look in his eyes as he took the chair opposite. He was so dangerously sexy when he looked at her like that. She had no defenses to withstand the temptation of his smile, let alone his touch.

He served their meal from the dishes set on the table, each movement of his hands reminding her of how those fingers had known every inch of her body. She had given herself so freely to him. Her lack of experience had not been an issue; she hadn't even mentioned it until after they had made love. Her body had felt no discomfort in receiving him the first time; she had felt as if she had been made for him and him alone.

"Shall we dance?"

"Dance? Here?"

He pulled her to her feet. "You loved to dance, Rebekah, remember? You always moved in my arms as if we were one person."

He flicked the switch on a remote control and the soft strains of a romantic ballad filed the air. She felt his arms come around her and her feet moved in time with his, her body so close to the warmth of his, she felt her heart begin to increase its pace.

"See." He said his deep voice a sexy rumble against her breasts. "You fit so well against me."

Rebekah gave herself up to the music and the feel of his body moving in time with hers. Her arms looped around his neck, which brought her even closer to his growing erection. She felt it harden against her and when she looked up into his eyes she knew there was no way she would be able to resist him.

His hands were like hot brands on her hips, his muscled thighs moved against and between hers as they moved together until she was almost mad with the need to feel him fill her. His mouth swooped down and covered hers with a searing kiss of passion. His mouth was a burning pressure on hers, the movement of his hands as they found her breasts making her gasp with pleasure.

"You're wearing too many clothes." He growled as his fingers found the zip of her dress and slid it downwards.

"So are you." She said and began to undo the buttons of his shirt, lingering to press a hot little kiss as each part of his chest was exposed.

He groaned when she got to his belt and lifting her, carried to the bed, joining her in a tangle of limbs and half-discarded clothes. Rebekah put her hand over his as he reached for her panties, which only just covered the seam of her scar. "Can we turn the lights down?"

"But I want to see all of you."

"I'm not as slim as I used to be…"

"You look wonderful to me."

"Please, Ted."

"All right but next time I want to see every inch of you."

Rebekah felt the thrill of his urgent arousal as he came back over to her, his hands tearing at her clothes as she tore at his, their bodies straining to join in the most intimate of all embraces. She ached with the need to feel him inside her.

His mouth moved to her breast and sucked hard, the rasp of his tongue making her toes curl and her back arch in response. He moved to her other breast, his hands stroking her and moving lower until he found the secret heart of her, his fingers stroking into her slippery warmth until she was writhing with pleasure. She felt her body begin to tingle with the first waves of release but it wasn't enough. She reached for him, her fingers shaping his turgid length, his agonized gasp inciting her to increase the pressure until he was struggling to contain control.

He grasped at her hand but she pushed him with her free one until he was on his back, his chest rising and falling as she began to move her mouth from the flat taut plane of his abdomen in teasing little wet kisses until she came to the pulsing heat of him.

He groaned again when she licked at his swollen length, her tongue tasting him before she opened her mouth over the satin-covered steel of his body, drawing him in with stroking and rolling movements of his tongue.

"Enough!"

He pulled her away from him and flipped her on her back, rummaging quickly for a condom and applying it before driving into her with such urgency she cried out in sheer relief that he was finally where she most wanted him. His movements were hard and fast but she was with him all the way, her body rocking against his as it climbed towards the pinnacle of release it craved.

"I'm going too fast." He said breathlessly against her mouth.

"You're not going fast enough." She urged him on with her body, rising to meet each forward movement of his. Suddenly she was there.

Her whole body tightened and then exploded, splintering into a thousand tiny pieces, each one of them shivering with the aftershocks of pleasure. She felt his explosive release hard on the heels of hers, every muscle in his body tensing before he let go with a deep primal groan. They lay still intimately entwined, basking in the afterglow of deep contentment.

Ted eased himself up on his elbows to look down at her. "I had planned to take things slowly but you made it impossible. Your body excites me like no other."

"You're pretty exciting too." She said reaching up to stroke his jaw with her hand.

He captured her hand and pressed a soft kiss to the middle of her palm. "Have you had many other lovers since me?" He asked.

"Why do you ask?"

"It is selfish and chauvinistic of me, I know, but I was hoping you have not."

Her expression contained a hind of reproach. "I'm sure you haven't been celibate for the last four years."

"No..."

"Have you been in love with anyone?"

"No, I have not allowed myself to feel that way about anyone."

Rebekah felt hope begin to rise in her chest, did he still feel something for her? His eyes gave nothing away as they connected with hers but she could feel his body thickening inside her. His hands began to explore her breasts, his thumbs reacquainting themselves with the rock hard pebbles of her nipples, his hot moist mouth moving down to suckle on each of her breasts until her head was spinning and her ears ringing with the pleasure of having his strong arms around her and his lips and tongue playing havoc with her senses all over again.

Ted pulled away from her breast and looked down at her with a quizzical expression. "What's that noise?"

"What noise?" She asked dizzily, her mind still reeling from his sensual onslaught.

"It sounds like a cell phone on vibrate."

Rebekah felt her stomach lurch in panic. It was late and the only people who would be calling her at this hour would be either Christina or Jennie.

"Um...I'd better answer it."

He looked at her incredulously, his body pulsing with need inside hers. "Now?"

"It might be my sister." She said and eased herself out of his embrace. She walked on unsteady legs to her evening bag but the phone had stopped vibrating by the time she got to it. She stared at the screen as a message icon appeared. She pressed the key to display the text and her heart came to a stumbling halt when she read what was there.

Emily hurt—but don't worry—have taken her to the Children's hospital—C xox

Rebekah hadn't even noticed that Ted had come to stand beside her until she heard his deep voice ask in a tone that demanded an immediate answer. "Who's Emily?"

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	12. Chapter 12

"I—I have to go…." Rebekah almost fell over her feet to get clothes, struggling back into them with jerky agitated movements. "I have to go now…"

"Who's Emily?" Ted asked again, this time restraining her by the arm.

She looked up at him in desperation as she tugged her arm out of his hold. "She's…she's my daughter; now please let me go—I have to go to the hospital. Oh, God!" She began to cry as her keys dropped out of her gasp. "This is all my fault. I knew something like this would happen. It's all my fault."

"Your daughter?" Ted stared at her in stupefaction. "You have a child? You really have a child?"

She nodded as she scooped up her keys, tears running down her cheeks. "I was going to tell you…I just didn't know how to go about it."

"You agreed to have a relationship with me while you are married with a child?" He looked at her incredulously. "What sort of woman are you?"

She brushed at her eyes and said, "I'm not married…"

"Where is the child's father?"

She bit her lip. She couldn't tell him like this. "I have to go, Ted. We can talk some other time. Please."

"You are in no fit state to drive. Give me your keys. I will take you."

"No, you don't know your way around the city and I'll be much quicker on my own."

He took her arm again and this time there was no hope of escaping. "Then we will go by cab, which will be even quicker. You will not have to worry about parking."

It made good sense to Rebekah, although she knew there would be a price to pay for accepting his help. But she was beyond caring. She had to get to the hospital to see what was wrong with Emily. Guilt struck at her from every angle. She should never have left her daughter tonight. For days now Emily had seemed unusually clingy, but she'd put it down to her being over-tired. And now her little girl was in hospital, all because of her neglect.

The cab trip was mercifully swift but although Rebekah did her best to resist any attempts at conversation with Ted, he was not so easily put off.

"Shouldn't you be contacting her father?" He asked.

She huddled herself into the corner of the cab. "No."

"What do you mean no? Surely her father should know of this emergency?"

"He doesn't even know she exists."

"What do you mean, he does not know? Why have you not told him? Surely every man, no matter what the circumstances, has the right to know he has fathered a child."

She gave him a resigned look, as if the world had finally caught up with all of her frantic attempts to escape from it. "Actually, I did tell him but he chose not to believe me."

Ted felt as if someone had just struck him in the chest with a blunt object. Surely it couldn't be true? It wasn't possible. A niggling doubt crept into his mind; he had thought she'd been lying to save her pride, but what if he'd got it wrong?

They had used protection, he reminded himself. But the doubt tapped him on the shoulder again as he recalled those last few times before he had sent her away… His passion for her had been uncontrollable. He had surged into her warmth, relishing the intoxicating experience of feeling her silk against his steely strength without a barrier.

"I'm her father?" He croaked. She answered him with a tiny nod. "I do not believe you.

He regretted the words as soon as they left his lips but there was no way he could take them back. He saw the way they wounded her, the hunch of her shoulders as if protecting herself from further pain, the stiffness of her limbs and the set of her mouth making him realize how hard she was trying to cope.

"Well, that's to be expected, of course." She said with bitterness sharpening every word to a dagger point. "You have never believed me before, so I don't expect you do so now."

He finally found his voice, although it didn't really sound like his when he finally spoke. "Why did you not tell me?"

Her blue eyes were brimful of resentment. "I did tell you, but you refused to accept the possibility that I was carrying your child. You accused me of theft. It was clear from what you said that you thought I was lying to get you to do something you weren't prepared to do, like give my child a name—your name."

The cold hard vice of guilt pressed against him. He felt it in every part of his body. His chest felt so constricted he could hardly breathe and his stomach was churning with a nauseating dread that he had somehow got it wrong. He had sent her packing with the threat of exposure and immediate deportation. He had been so convinced of her guilt that he hadn't even bothered to look for another suspect.

But there were no other suspects, he reminded himself, not unless he was prepared to lay the blame at his mother or sister's feet. But what if Rebekah had planned this? A few sculptures were nothing compared to this. As revenges went this was surely up there with the best. She had kept his child from him all this time, not once trying to resume contact after those first few times.

"I have a daughter…" The words felt strange on his lip, like a language he had never learned to speak but, to his surprise, was now suddenly fluent in it.

"I call her Emily Melanie." She said into the taut silence.

"You gave her the name of my mother?"

Her eyes were still shining with tears. "I thought it was the least I could do. Your mother had been so kind to me in offering me a job at the gallery…"

Ted turned away to look at the glittering lights of the highway as the cab made its way to the hospital he could see in the near distance, his throat closing over with pain. His daughter was within the structures of that concrete and glass building. A daughter he had never realized existed until this moment, a daughter who connected him with Rebekah in the most intimate way possible, the combination of their blood flowing through her tiny veins.

"How old is she?" He asked.

"She turned three years old three months ago—her birthday is the fifteenth of April."

Ted closed his eyes against the rush of the emotion her words evoked. He had missed out on so much. Her entire babyhood had gone and he hadn't seen a thing. She would be walking and talking and yet he had never held her as an infant, had never changed her diaper, had never seen her first smile or first tooth or first anything. He could have walked past her on the street and would never have known she was his child.

"How could you have done this to me?" His words fell into the silence like a solid weight against a fragile glass surface.

Rebekah flinched beside him. "I had no choice. You believed me to be a thief. You sent me packing with your threats ringing in my ears. I tried to tell you so many times."

His eyes met hers in the subdued lighting of the cab as it pulled into the emergency bay of the hospital. "But you are a thief, Rebekah." His voice was tight with anger, each word hard-bitten. "You have stolen from me my daughter and I swear to God you will not get away with it this time. I let you off lightly when you betrayed my family's trust the last time, but not now. A few ancient sculptures are nothing to the value of my own flesh and blood. You will regret not telling me of my child's existence—I guarantee it."

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	13. Chapter 13

Rebekah stumbled from the cab with his words reverberating in her pain-racked body as she made her way to the reception desk to find out where her daughter was being held. She had tried Christina's cell in the cab but it had frustratingly gone to message service each time.

"Emily Hargensen?" The hospital receptionist looked through the long list of patients on her computer. "I'm sorry, but there's no patient of that name who has been admitted up until the last hour. Have you been to triage? She might still be being assessed."

Ted took Rebekah's elbow as they made their way through the endlessly long corridors to the triage area. Rebekah pressed the security button and quickly explained the situation to the receptionist who appeared at the window.

"Oh, yes, the little girl—she's being assessed right now. Come on through."

They walked up to the main desk. "Excuse me…." Rebekah began as a doctor rushed past.

"I need a chest drain in Emergency One, stat." The harried doctor said to a nurse before turning to Rebekah. "Could you please wait in the waiting room? Someone will be with you shortly."

Ted stepped forward. "Our daughter has been admitted to his hospital and we would like to know where she is."

The doctor stopped in his tracks at the authority in Ted's tone. "You must be little Emily Hargensen's parents. I'm sorry—we've been so busy this evening. She's just been taken down to X-ray."

"What's wrong with her?" Rebekah asked, panic beating like the wings of a startled bird in her chest.

The doctor gave them both a reassuring smile. "Nothing too serious. It looks like a greenstick fracture to her arm. It won't even need plaster. The X-ray is just to confirm my diagnosis. The young woman who brought her in is in room five."

Christina must have heard their voices as she was already coming out of the cubicle with Jayla half asleep in her arms. "Oh Rebekah, I'm so sorry. It happened so quickly. I was on the phone to my mother. The girls really should have been in bed but they were playing so happily and I wasn't watching for a moment and Emily fell off the sofa. I'm so sorry. I don't know what to say…"

"It's all right." Rebekah gave her a quick hug, careful not to disturb little Jayla. "The doctor said it's just a greenstick fracture."

"It is serious." Ted said with a glaring frown. "What sort of babysitter allows a small child to injure herself?"

"Ted, please…" Rebekah put a hand on his arm. "This is not the time to—"

"Not the time to what?" He said, interrupting her coldly. "To tell me what I should have been told nearly four years ago? That is my daughter in there and I want know how she came to be injured."

"You're Emily's father?" Christina said somewhat unnecessarily.

"Yes." Ted answered stiffly. "Although I have only been informed of the fact less than fifteen minutes ago. How did my daughter injure herself?"

Rebekah, seeing the distress on her friend's face, stepped forward. "Ted pleases—this is not Christina's fault. Children hurt themselves all the time. Emily gets clumsy when she's tired and falling off a sofa is virtually an everyday occurrence in a child of three. It's not fair to blame Christina."

Ted turned his glittering gaze on her. "So it is you I should blame, is it not? For you are her mother and you left her under inadequate supervision."

Anger flared in her eyes and even though she knew it was unfair to dump what was really her own guilty on him, she did so regardless. "You were the one who insisted I spend the evening with you. If I hadn't been forced to be with you, this might never have happened."

Ted opened his mouth to defend himself when the rattle of a gurney turned his head and he saw his little daughter for the very first time…

"Mommy?" Emily's little voice was strained and fearful as her sky blue eyes went to where Rebekah was standing beside Christina.

"Oh precious..." Rebekah rushed to her and kissed her gently on her forehead, both her cheeks and the tip of her tiny nose. "Are you all right, darling? The doctor said you hurt your arm. You're being so brave. Does it hurt very much?"

Emily's bottom lip wobbled precariously. "Not now…I just wanted you to be wif me…" She began to cry, big tears popping out of her eyes like oversized crystals.

Ted swallowed the rising emotion in his throat. He felt shut out and isolated. His own flesh and blood didn't even recognize him, although he could see without a doubt she was his child. He had considered demanding a paternity test but he could see now it would be pointless. Emily looked exactly as Kelly had looked at the same age—the same blond hair, the same bottomless blue eyes and the same rosebud mouth and button nose.

Pain twisted inside him like a trapped and angry serpent, the venom of his anger stinging him in every possible place. He had a child—a little daughter that Rebekah had kept from him. In spite of his earlier refusal to believe her, she's had almost four years to tell him and yet she hadn't. She hadn't even told him over the last few days and yet she'd had every possible chance to do so. Three of his daughter's birthdays had already passed; what else would he have missed if he hadn't found out?

"Ms. Hargensen?" The doctor who had spoken to Rebekah earlier came over with an envelope containing Emily's X-rays. "Your daughter is free to go home. It is, as I suspected, a greenstick fracture, which requires nothing but a firm bandage and a review by an orthopedic surgeon in three weeks. Here is a list of names of orthopedic surgeons." He turned to his little patient with a smile. "You were very brave, Emily. I had a ten year old boy in here the other night with exactly the same condition and he yelled the place down."

Emily's big blue eyes went wide. "Weally?"

He gave her hair a quick but gentle ruffle. "I didn't just have to bandage his arm—I was tempted to put a big plaster over his mouth."

Emily giggled.

"Thank you so much, Dr. Logan." Rebekah said. "I'm so sorry I wasn't here with her when she came in."

"I'm a parent myself. My wife and I both work shifts, so I know what a juggle it is with childcare and babysitting. Your friend did the right thing in bringing Emily in so quickly. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must see the rest of my patients. I'll send a nurse over to see to that bandage. I even think we've got a pink one. Good luck, Emily and don't' go falling off the sofa anymore."

"I won't." Emily smiled shyly.

Rebekah stood to one side as the nurse gently and expertly bandaged her daughter's arm. Christina had quietly excused herself just moments before with Jayla fast asleep on her shoulder, but Ted was still standing watching her with a stony expression on his face and Rebekah knew without a doubt that her nightmare of a night was far from over…

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	14. Chapter 14

Emily was asleep almost before the cab arrived, her little blond head lolling against Rebekah's shoulder as she walked to the hospital entrance with Ted at her elbow. She could feel his simmering anger; it was almost palpable in the cold night air. It was coming off him in scorching waves that threatened to peel off her skin every time he looked at her.

"You have a lot of explaining to do. " He bit out as he waved down a cab.

"This is not the time or place." She said. "I need to get Emily home and into bed."

"This is not over, Rebekah." He warned her. "I swear to God this is not over."

The cab arriving forestalled any further speech and Rebekah sank into the seat with her daughter snuggling up close.

"Put her in the seat belt." Ted instructed.

Rebekah's blue eyes battled with his for a moment before she did as he demanded, even though it produced a whimper of pain from Emily. She hadn't wanted to let her daughter go even for a second, but she knew he was right. Even a short journey could be dangerous without the protection of a seat belt.

Ted leaned forward to give the cab driver directions and Rebekah felt her heart give a tiny flutter. He had very definitely had tabs on her if he knew where she lived. She sat back in her seat with Emily's blond head on her lap, wondering how he would view her tiny run-down inner city rented apartment. It was all she could afford. Childcare cut into her budget and with Jennie's ongoing demands, she often sailed a little too close to the wind. There were few luxuries. Some weeks it was all she could do to keep food on the table.

"I cannot believe you have kept this from me for all this time." He inserted into the stiff silence.

"If you remember, I did tell you." She threw back. "But you refused to believe me. I tried phoning and emailing you, but you blocked all contact."

"You could have told me the first night I saw you at the museum! She's my child!" He glared at her furiously. "Do you have any idea of how much I have missed out on? Do you?"

Her eyes flashed at his, her tone unmistakably sarcastic. "So this is now all about you, it is Ted? I'm sorry but I thought it was about a little child who has suffered an injury. Pardon me for being so remiss in putting her needs over yours."

His jaw tightened until she could see white tips at the edges of his mouth. "I should have been told. As soon as I saw you the other night, you should have told me."

She sent him an embittered glance. "I would have told you if I hadn't thought you would whip her away from me as soon as she was born."

There was a deadly little pause. "I can still do that."

Rebekah's eyes flew back to his, her heart threatening to jump out of her chest. "You can't do that! She's my daughter."

His eyes were like blue diamonds. "She is my daughter as well. And, from what I have seen so far, you are not looking after her with any degree of competency."

"That's not true!"

He gave her a cynical look. "How can you possibly say that when she is lying between us with a serious injury?"

"She hurt her arm." Rebekah said. "It's not the least bit life-threatening. Children hurt themselves all the time. It could have happened at the daycare."

His eyes burned with fury. "You send her to daycare to be looked after by strangers?"

She rolled her eyes at him. "I'm a single mother, Ted, and just like any other single mother I have to work to put food on the table. And, as much as I would love to be with Emily full-time, I don't have the luxury of that choice, so yes—I do allow strangers to look after her, but they are highly qualified strangers who each have a fully accredited childcare certificate."

"You will withdraw her from care immediately."

Rebekah tightened her mouth. "I will do no such thing."

"You will cancel her childcare arrangements, for from now on you will be a full-time mother to her."

"I have a job!" She reminded him heatedly. "I have commitments regarding the exhibition."

"Cancel them."

"I can't cancel them! Jerry is out of action and it's all up to me to pull this off. I can't pull out now, even if I wanted to."

"I will withdraw my sponsorship if you do not quit your job. I will also tell your employers of your history of theft. I was starting to believe you were innocent, but I can see now you were not. You have no trouble with lying; it comes to you so naturally."

Rebekah felt the tension building to breaking point. She could barely see for the white spots of it disturbing the line of her vision. She felt sick with dread in case he did as he threatened. He had so much power and she had so little…

"Please…." She turned to look at him, her eyes awash with unshed tears. "I know you are angry and I can understand how you must feel, but you will be hurting your daughter if you hurt me. I have only ever acted in her best interests. You have to believe that. I had no choice over seeing you again because you saw me as a thief. Do you know how many times I wished I could have picked up the phone in the last three years and told you of her existence? I wanted to every day of her life but I couldn't. You made it impossible for me by labeling me the way you did. You shut me out of your life. You charged me with a crime I did not commit."

"You lie!" He threw the words at her like stinging arrows. "You are lying now. You were never going to tell me of my daughter's existence. I know that. I can see it in your eyes. You wanted this last hold of power over me. The ultimate revenge was to have stolen the most priceless thing of all—my child."

Rebekah set her mouth. "I did not steal her. You threw her away when you threw me away."

"When did you suspect you were pregnant?"

"I was late and started to worry. I know condoms aren't' foolproof and although I'd gone on the pill I wasn't sure it had kicked in when…when we…" She sighed. "When you came to the gallery that afternoon I tried to tell you of my suspicions but you had suspicions of your own."

Ted struggled to listen without interrupting. He wanted to defend his action but he was starting to see that Rebekah had been in a difficult situation.

"I didn't have the pregnancy confirmed until I was back in New York." She said in a subdue tone, her fingers brushing back the silky hair off Emily's peacefully sleeping face. Another tense silence tightened the air between them.

"Was it deliberate?" He asked. "As a way of snaring yourself a billionaire?"

She sent him a furious glance. "How can you ask that? I was halfway through my Honors degree. I had a chance to sidestep a Masters to have a go at a Ph.D. Why would I deliberately compromise that by getting pregnant on purpose? And, if I had, why then would I keep it a secret for all this time?"

Ted turned his head to look out at the city streets flashing by. It was raining, the cold sheets of icy moisture reminding him of how far away he was from home. He felt out of his depth, not just because of the climate change but because everything had changed. He was a father. He had responsibilities he had to face, even though the thought of tying himself to a woman who had exploited him and his family was anathema to him.

Yes, he still desired her. She was a fever beating in his blood and the fact that she had borne his child only made it a thousand times worse. They were connected in the most intimate way possible, their blood lines linked, their future enmeshed in the body of the small, exquisitely beautiful child lying between them.

He knew his mother would be beside herself with joy to find she had a grandchild, especially so soon after the tragic loss of Kelly. How much hurt would like little Emily repair of meeting her grandmother for the first time?

"Once the exhibition is over we will go to London." He said.

Rebekah stared at him in shock. "I'm not going anywhere with you."

His eyes met hers with a challenge she knew was going to be hard to withstand. "You come with me, Rebekah, or I swear to God you will never see your daughter again."

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	15. Chapter 15

She swallowed convulsively. "You can't do that…"

His expression was unmoved by her emotionally charged statement. "I can and I will. You have reared my child in an unsafe environment. She is daily exposed to danger. Tonight is a case in point. God knows what we will find at your apartment."

Rebekah felt her heart sink in despair. Jennie wasn't to be trusted. She sat on the edge of her seat, the sharp teeth of terror gnawing at her insides as the cab driver pulled into her street... The bedroom light was on in her apartment, which hopefully meant Jennie had taken her up on her offer of a bed for the night.

Ted had Emily in his arms, his hold so gentle and protective it brought tears to Rebekah's eyes as she led the way to the door. She heard a low male groan as soon as she opened the door, her heart instantly tripping in alarm.

"Come on, baby, give it to me." The stranger's voice said. "I paid you double the money—now deliver."

Rebekah shut the door with a snap and turned to face Ted's thunderous frown, her back pressed flat against the door. "We can't go in there…"

His jaw tightened until she could see the pulse leaping at the side of his mouth. "Your sister?"

The color of her shame answered for her. "Yes."

"How often does this occur?"

She knew he wouldn't believe her but she felt compelled to defend herself. "It hasn't happened before, I swear it hasn't."

She was right—he didn't believe her. His disgust was evident on his face as he made his way back to the pavement with Emily still asleep in his arms.

"Ted…" Rebekah rushed after him. "I swear to God, Jennie has never done this before! She would never dream of betraying me like this."

He sent her a withering glance as he reached with one hand for cell phone, somehow managing to keep Emily secure in his arms. "Your sister is just as untrustworthy as you. How dare you expose my daughter to such depravity?"

Tears spilled from her eyes. "She promised me she would get help! She gave me her word."

His eyes narrowed. "To get help for what?"

Rebekah felt her chest cave in as she realized what she had revealed.

"To get help for what?" He repeated, his voice scraping along her nerves like the blade of a serrated knife.

She lowered her gaze, her stomach churning in anguish and dread, her voice coming out flat and empty. "She's a heroin addict...ever since our mother got sick, she became involved with an unsavoury crowd...I couldn't stop her… it went downhill from there…"

"So she sells herself to feed her habit?"

Rebekah couldn't meet his narrowed gaze. Shame felt like a searing brand all over her. She felt is imprint on every surface of her body—even her eyes were stinging with it. She heard his harshly indrawn breath in the aching silence. "You have allowed my daughter to be exposed to this?"

"I didn't have any choice. What could I do? Abandon my sister? I am all she has. I wanted Emily to grow up knowing her aunt. I had to do what I could to keep Jennie alive, even if it meant at times compromising myself in the process."

"You have not just compromised yourself but my daughter!"

"I had no choice!" Rebekah fought back. "Do you know what it's like to watch someone you love destroy their potential and be unable to do anything to stop it? I have tried everything. I have begged, I have bribed, I have given her chance after chance, and time and time again, just when I think she is turning the corner, she lets me down."

"Then get rid of her out of your life."

She sent him an accusing look. "Like you did to me?"

"As far as I was concerned, you were guilty. I saw no reason to continue our association."

"It's so easy for you, isn't it? Anyone who steps over your boundaries, you cut out of your life, but she is my sister. My only living relative apart from Emily and I won't write her off like you did to me. She is guilty of being weak—yes—but she needs help and I will not give up on her."

"I will not allow my daughter to be exposed to such a person." He said as a cab pulled into the curb. "You will not be returning with Emily to your apartment. I will make arrangements for your things to be moved to my hotel immediately."

"A hotel is not the place for a small child." Rebekah argued as he bundled her into the cab.

"Neither is a back yard brothel." He threw back as he settled Emily between them.

"I told you—she's never done that before. She promised me she was going to go to detox. I planned to take her to a new clinic. That's why I took your money—to pay for it. It's expensive. ..I couldn't do it without—"

His eyes cut to hers. "You used my money for that whore?"

Rebekah tightened her mouth. "You sit so high up in your ivory tower seat of judgment, but what price would you have paid for your sister to get well again?"

Ted looked at her in dumbstruck silence. She was right. He would have paid any price to get Kelly well again, but no amount of money had been able to achieve it.

"You don't know what the real world is like, Ted. I've done everything possible to help my sister. She's broken my heart so many times but I won't give up on her. I don't believe in giving up on people, unlike you, who with just one whiff of suspicion threw our relationship away. You didn't give me a fair trial; you had made your mind and nothing I said was ever going to change it. As far as you were concerned, I was guilty, but only because you wanted me to guilty."

"I did not want you to be guilty." Ted spoke the words but he wondered deep inside if they were true. Had he been looking for a way out of their rapidly escalating relationship? His family had always married within the rich community. A bride had already been selected for him—Eve Torres, a pretty young woman who had all the making of submissive wife. She had been a close friend of Kelly's and so everyone had assumed that in time he would settle down and make her an offer…and yet… "I did not want you to be guilty."

"Yeah right." She said, flicking him a disdainful glance as she drew her daughter closer. "Your so-called love for me didn't last the distance, did it, Ted? If you had truly cared anything for me, nothing would have stopped you from defending me but you let me go the first chance you could."

"If it is any comfort to you, it was not easy for me to do so." He said, looking down at his hands resting on his tiny daughter's pink pajama-clad bent knees.

She gave him an embittered looked and turned her head to look at the raindrops beading on the window of the cab. "Then you escaped lightly." She said. "The hardest thing for me was walking away from you and staying away."

But she hadn't walked away of her own free will, Ted reminded himself with a deep pang of regret as he settled back in his seat, his hands still on his tiny daughter's legs. He had sent her away….

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	16. Chapter 16

Emily started to stir in Rebekah's arms once they arrived at Ted's hotel.

"Where are we, Mommy?" She asked, blinking at the bright lights of the hotel foyer as the cab drew to a halt outside.

"We're at a hotel, darling." Rebekah answered. "This is where your…er…daddy is staying."

"My daddy is here?" Emily asked with wide eyes.

Rebekah caught the trail-end of Ted's look and felt another wave of guilt crash through her. He was so very angry but in amongst the anger she could see he was deeply hurt. His blue eyes shone with it, the pain evident every time he looked at his little daughter.

"Yes, he's here, darling."

"Emily—"Ted's deep voice brought the little girl's head around "—I am your daddy."

"Welly?" Emily's eyes grew even wider.

He smiled and gently stroked a long finger against her creamy cheek. "Yes I am—really."

"Are you going to live wif us now?" Emily asked, her thumb sneaking up to her little mouth.

"That hasn't been de—"Rebekah began.

"That is certainly what I will be doing." Ted said, interrupting her. "In fact we are going to go on a holiday together, just like a real family."

"In an aeropwane?" Emily asked around her thumb.

He nodded as he lifted her out of the cab. "Not just any old airplane, little one, but my very own private jet."

"I've never been on an aeropwane." Emily said, nestling against his shoulder, her eyelids beginning to droop once more. "Is mommy coming too?"

Ted met Rebekah's mutinous look. "Yes, she is Emily."

"Are you going to get married?" Emily asked.

Rebekah's eyes moved away from the burning probe of Ted's to address her daughter. "Not all mommies and daddies are married to each other."

Emily's little forehead started to wrinkle. "But I want to be a flower girl like Jayla was. I want to wear a pretty dress and have flowers and stuff in my hair."

"I will see what can be arranged." Ted said and led the way into the hotel.

Rebekah had to wait until Emily was settled and sound asleep in the second bedroom of the penthouse suit before she could confront Ted over his autocratic plans to take over their lives.

"How dare you imply to Emily we're getting married?" She fumed as she came into the main room. "She'll be so disappointed when she finds out the truth."

He held her flashing blue gaze for a lengthy moment without speaking. Rebekah didn't care for the intransigent set to his features and wondered what was going on behind the blue screen of his eyes. She could almost hear the cogs of his incisive mind ticking over.

"Emily has raised an important issue." He said at last. "She is a child crying out for a normal family life. We can give that to her."

Ted stared at him in alarm. "Don't even think about it, Ted. You're the last man I would ever consider marrying."

"I am not going to give you a choice. If you do not agree to become my wife, you will find yourself not only without a job but without a daughter. There is not a judge in America who would allow a little child of three years of age to be exposed to a heroin-addicted prostitute, and you damn well know it."

"I am her mother! You can't just waltz in and take her away."

He moved past her to get himself a drink from the well-stocked bar on the other side of the room. "Well I am her father and since I have not had any say in her upbringing thus far, I am taking full control now."

Rebekah drew in a breath that scraped at her raw throat. "How can you expect to know what's in her best interests? You don't even know how to be a father."

His eyes hit hers. "And whose fault is that?"

She couldn't hold the burning accusation in his gaze. "I told you I had no choice. I would have told you years ago but you wouldn't listen."

He moved back to stand in front of her. "Tell me something Rebekah were you ever going to get around to telling me of her existence? You have known I was coming to New York for months. You could have at any time contacted me and told me and yet you did not. Not only that, over the last few days you have spent hours and hours in my company and yet you have not said a word."

Rebekah felt the probe of his gaze against hers and knew it would be pointless to lie to him now. "I was trying to work up the courage…"

"I do not believe you."

"I was!"

"You are lying. You have had numerous opportunities to tell me. No wonder you found it hard to look at me. All that talk of you finding things difficult between us was a pack of lies. What you were finding difficult was facing up to your guilt."

"I was going to tell you! I wanted to, but I was worried you'd do exactly what you're doing now!"

"You bitch." His embittered words slashed the air like a machete. "You thieving little lying bitch."

Rebekah raised her hand without thinking but he caught it in mid-air, his rapid block sending every bit of air out of her lungs.

"You want to play it rough, do you, Rebekah?" He asked, his fingers tightening around her wrist until she was sure it would bruise. "Go on the, hit me."

Her eyes blazed with hatred. "Let go of me or you'll regret it."

He gave a mocking laugh as she pulled ineffectually against his hold. "How are you going to make me regret it?"

She kicked out with her foot but he spun her around so her back was toward him, every hard ridge and plane of his body now pressing against hers. She could feel his warmth seeping into her, the fragrance of his aftershave filling her sense and the unmistakable swelling of his erection probing her erotically from behind.

"I do not think violence becomes you, Rebekah." He said against her neck, his lips a temptation she knew she would not be able to bear for much longer. "I prefer you purring like a kitten in my arms."

"Let me go..." her plea was halfway between a gasp and groan as he pressed even harder against her.

His mouth found the sensitive skin behind her ear. "That was my mistake four years ago this time I will not let you go."

She shivered as his tongue slid from behind her ear to her neck, tasting her in tiny teasing kisses that made her stomach quiver and her legs go weak and watery. He turned her in his arms and looked down at her, his eyes alight with desire as his hand cupped her breast, his other reaching between her legs, rubbing her immediately until she was leaning into him unashamedly. "See how you respond to me, Rebekah?"

"I don't want to respond to you…" She breathed into the hot moist cavern of his mouth as it hovered just above hers. "It doesn't seem right…"

His lips brushed against hers, the tickling, teasing touch stirring her into a mindless frenzy of need. "What would indeed be wrong would be to ignore this passion that sizzles between us, Rebekah." He said, stroking her bottom lip with the rasping, sensuous glide of his tongue.

She opened her mouth as his tongue pushed tantalizingly against her lips, her stomach hollowing in need as he thrust in once, stroking her tongue with his and then retreated. She brought her mouth back to his and met his tongue with her own, tentatively at first and then, when he responded with a deep groan, with even more fervor.

It was a kiss of combat and the angst fuelling it somehow made it all the more thrilling. Her teeth nipped at him, inciting him to do the same, her bottom lip his tender target. He suckled on its fullness before capturing it with his teeth again in a series of playful little bites that had her sense instantly screaming for release.

He pushed her backwards until she was up against the nearest wall, his mouth feeding hungrily off hers, his chest heaving in and out with the effort to staying in control. Rebekah didn't want him in control. She wanted him in full-throttle mode, no holds barred. She tore at his shirt with her fingers, her nails raking along his skin with an almost animal passion as her tongue fought with his for supremacy.

His hands went to her breasts, shaping her through the fabric of her dress possessively before he reached behind her for her zipper and lowered it. The feel of his hands on the naked skin of her back was intoxicating, every pore of her skin tensing in delight as he brought his hands around to where her breasts were aching for his touch.

Her dress fell in a pool at her feet, leaving her with nothing but her panties and heels, her whole body quivering in anticipation as he reached beneath the damp lace of her underwear to stroke her intimately.

"You want me." He said in a husky tone, his blue eyes glittering with victory. "You can deny it all you like, but your body speaks for you."

Rebekah couldn't see any point in denying it now. Her whole body arched to bring his fingers deeper but it still wasn't enough. She threw her head back and gave a whimpering groan as his fingers began to massage the wet swollen bud of her femininity with devastating expertise. She could feel the tension building all through her body until her mind switched off and she became conscious of nothing but the spiraling sensations his masterful touch was evoking. She felt the first flicker and then the full-on rush of feeling as the spasms took hold, rocking her body against his hand, her hips undulating with the sheer force of trying to hold on that exquisite feeling for us long as she could.

Her whole body sagged against the wall when it was over, her legs feeling as if they were going to fold beneath her. Shame coursed through her like a hot red tide when Ted stepped back from her. Whatever desire he had felt was now gone. She could see the disdain in his eyes as they raked her slumped form and she inwardly cringed at her appalling lack of control.

She rustled up a tattered remnant of pride and affecting a sultry expression, met his gaze. "What's wrong, Ted? Not feeling up to it again tonight? I thought you had more stamina."

His mouth tightened. "I do not intend to sleep with you again until we are married?"

Her eyes flashed back at him defiantly. "I don't intend to sleep with you at all, married or not!"

His lip curled as his gaze ran over her half-naked form. "I can have you whenever I like. I just proved it."

"You proved nothing but what an unscrupulous man you are." She spat back.

He stepped towards her again, his arms locking hers above her head. "You like to brandish those insults of yours around, don't you? But I should warn you that once we are married you will have to tame that tongue of yours or you will regret it."

"How are you going to make me regret it, Ted?" She threw his own words back at him, her taunting tone setting off a blazing inferno in his eyes as they clashed with hers.

She sucked in a little breath as his hands pulled her from where she was pressed up against the wall, her body slamming into the tempting heat of his.

"I will teach you to bend to my will if it's the last thing I do." He growled.

"Then you're going to have one hell of a fight on your hands." She warned him with a lift of her chin.

His eyes warred with hers, his jaw so tight she could hear his teeth grinding together. The tension was like an electric current zinging in the air. The scent of his arousal was there too, teasing her nostrils until she felt as if she was breathing him into the secret depths of her body.

His eyes burned into hers as he pulled her towards the huge bed, his free hand undoing his belt, his shoes thudding to the floor as he pressed her down on the mattress, his weight pinning her beneath him.

"Is this what you want?" He asked, releasing himself, the hard probe of his erect body already sinking into her wet warmth.

Rebekah gasped as he drove forward with a deep thick thrust, her inner muscles grabbing at him greedily, wanting all of him, again and again. Her hands clawed at him, holding him, caressing him, stroking him until he let out a deep primal groan as he sank even further into her warmth, his movements quickening as the pressure built.

His pace was almost too hard and too fast but somehow she kept up, her body responding without restraint, her soft but frantic cries making her pant as she felt himself climbing to the summit again.

Ted lifted his mouth off hers and forced her chin up so that she met his eyes. "Look at me." He demanded hoarsely.

Her eyes skirted away from his but he wouldn't allow it. "Look at me, damn you! I want you to see what you do to me, what you have always done to me."

"You hate yourself for it, though, don't you, Ted?" She asked a little breathlessly as his hard body thrust deeply and determinedly into hers. "You want me even though you hate me."

"The less said about my feelings towards you right now the better." He said and with one last powerful thrust he triggered her release with the mind-blowing explosion of his own.

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	17. Chapter 17

Rebekah lay in the tight circle of his arms, her heart still racing as the aftershocks of pleasure filtered through her body. She could feel the deep thud of his heart against her breast and his uneven breathing against the soft skin of her neck. She wanted to say something but for the life of her couldn't think of how to break the awkward silence. She felt so ashamed of her weakness; she had practically begged him to make love to her again.

She felt him roll away and turned her head to see him put his hand up over his eyes as if warding off a nasty headache. She watched as his chest rose and fell in a sigh before he removed his hand and turned his head to look at her.

"I am sorry, Rebekah." Ted said in a gruff tone. "That was not meant to happen, or at least not like that."

She gave him an ironic look. "I thought that was why you paid me in the first place. Wasn't that the deal? I was to become your paid mistress for the period of time you're here?"

A dull flush appeared along his sharp cheekbones. "I didn't know then you were the mother of my child."

She raised her brows expressively. "So that makes it somehow different, does it?"

"You know it does."

She got off the bed and scooped her clothing off the floor, dressing again with angry, agitated movements. She pulled the hair out of the back of her dress once she had zipped it back up and glared at him.

"You're a hypocrite, Ted. You were content to employ me as your mistress when it suited you but now you want me to be a faithful obedient wife."

He got off the bed and reached for a robe. "You will be my wife, Rebekah." He said trying the ends together. "But, as to whether you will be faithful and obedient, that remains to be seen."

"How will you explain this to your mother? I can imagine she's going to be rather shocked that you lowered yourself to marry the hired help."

"She will understand my motivation to protect my daughter at whatever cost."

"But what about the cost to me?" She asked. "You're asking me to walk away from my life here."

"As far as I can see it, your life here consists of juggling a career and a child and the consequences of the criminal behavior of your sister. You will be much better out of it. As my wife you will have everything money can buy. Emily will not only have the benefit of two parents, but she will also have the devotion of her grandmother."

"You think by waving your wallet around you can have anything you like, don't you?"

His eyes glittered as they clashed with hers. "I bought you, did I not?"

She drew in a sharp little breath, her blue eyes flashing with spite. "Then I hope you enjoyed this evening, for it's not going to happen again."

"It will happen again, Rebekah, for you cannot help yourself. We are alike in that, if nothing else. We still share the fierce attraction we felt from the first moment we met."

"But we hate each other. What sort of home environment are we going to provide for Emily? We'll be bickering and sniping at each other all the time."

"We will act like the responsible, mature adults we are meant to be." He countered. "We will treat each other with respect, most especially when in the company of our daughter."

"That's going to be quite a challenge for you then, isn't you?" She gave him a pointed look. "I can see nothing but hatred in your eyes."

"You should consider yourself fortunate that I am actually prepared to marry you. On the basis of what I witnessed this evening, I could take Emily from you permanently."

"So I'm supposed to be grateful that you're forcing me into marriage, am I?"

"You could do a lot worse."

"Yes, I suppose I could." She shot back sarcastically. "I could have married someone who loved me."

"You had the chance to do that four years ago but you threw it away."

"There is no way of convincing you, is there?" She asked, ashamed that tears were prickling at the back of her eyes. "You still see me as a thief. You will always see me as that."

"I am prepared to put aside the past to deal with our future." He said. "We have a child to consider now. It would not be good for Emily to hear about that incident. I will make sure no one speaks of it ever again. Beside, as far as I know, only my mother, Kelly and I knew about it."

Rebekah frowned. "You didn't tell anyone else?"

"No."

"But...but why not?"

"I thought it best at the time."

"But how did you explain our sudden parting? Surely people wanted to know what had happened between us."

"I told them you had study commitments back home, which was partly true. You would have had to return at some point to finish your degree, even if I had asked you to marry me. I would not have expected you to sacrifice your education."

"And yet you are demanding I sacrifice the whole point of my education now—my career."

"You have a child, Rebekah. You have clearly struggled to provide for her alone. Once we are married and settled into a routine you can think about returning to your career. There are numerous opportunities in London for a person with your qualifications."

"You really expect me to do this, don't you? To just walked away from my life and take up with you."

"You do not have any choice. It is either marry me or lose your daughter."

"Even though by doing so I will be losing myself?"

"You will not lose yourself, Rebekah. I will try to be a good husband to you."

"Does that mean you'll be faithful?"

He held her challenging look for a long time before answering. "That remains entirely up to you."

"What do you mean by that?"

"If you do not want to conduct a normal physical relationship with me, then I will have no choice but to have my needs met elsewhere."

She gave him a disgusted glance. "You mean pay someone?"

His eyes swept over her in a raking manner. "Up until now I have never had to pay."

She tightened her mouth. "I only took that money to help my sister. I was never going to sleep with you."

"So what changed your mind?"

Rebekah turned away in case he saw her vulnerability. She could hardly tell him she was still in love with him, even though it was painfully true.

"I asked what changed your mind."

She turned back around once she was sure her expression was bland with indifference. "Sex with an ex holds some sort of appeal, don't you think? I wanted to see if you still had what it took."

"And your verdict is?"

"Revisiting relationship is always fraught with the danger of disappointment."

"If you were disappointed you showed no signs of it."

"A hungry person would think contaminated food is a feast."

"So you thought it was worth the risk?" He looked at her. "But we do it rather well, don't we Rebekah?"

She gritted her teeth and crossed her arms. "I hate myself for responding to you."

He moved across to stand in front of her, his hand tipping up her face so she had to look at him. "You are always going to respond to me. It is something that is inescapable."

Rebekah could feel the magnetic pull of his gaze as it held hers, all her senses going into overload as his eyes dipped to her mouth. Her lips buzzed with anticipation of the erotic pressure of his mouth on hers, her skin prickling all over at the thought of his body invading hers so commandingly, her eyelids slowly closing as she prepared herself for his devastating kiss….

"Mommy?"

Rebekah's eyes sprang open as Emily padded into the room. "Darling…" She rushed across the room to crouch down before her daughter. "Is your arm hurting?"

"Yes..." Emily gave a little sob. "And I had bad dweam."

"I'm here not, sweetie." She soothed.

"And so am I." Ted said.

Emily rubbed at her eyes and padded over to him. "I was dweaming about you." She said, looking up at him with huge blue eyes.

"Were you?" Ted felt his throat tighten as he looked down at the little pixie face in front of him.

"I fought you were going to go away…"

He bent down to her level, his eyes warm as they met hers. "I am not going away, little one. You can count on that."

"I can't count past ten." Emily said with a sheepish look. "Mommy's been teaching me but I'm not berry good."

Ted felt as if someone had clamped his heart in a vice. He had never felt such emotion before. "You are only three years old. You have plenty of time to learn."

"Can you count to a hundred?" Emily asked, slipping her thumb into her mouth and sucking so hard he could hear it.

He smiled as another emotional gear shifted in his chest. "Yes, I can."

The tiny thumb came out long enough to ask, "Will you teach me?"

He gathered her into his arms and breathed in the small child scent of her, his heart contracting at the thought of all he had missed out on so far. "I will teach you whatever you need to learn, little one."

"Mommy?" Emily peered past her father's broad shoulder. "Did you hear dat?" Daddy's going to teach me to count to a hundred."

Rebekah smiled even though her face hurt with the effort. "That's wonderful, darling. I'm sure he'll be a wonderful teacher."

Emily snuggled up close to her father as he carried her back to the spare bedroom. "I like having a daddy." She said, hugging him tight around the neck with her little arms.

"And I like having a daughter." Ted said, trying to control his voice.

Emily eased herself away to look at him with big, serious blue eyes. "You won't go away again, will you? Cause I haven't shown you my special fings."

"What special things do you want to show me?" He asked as he tucked her back into the spare bed.

She gave him an assessing look, as if deciding whether he was to be trusted or not. "I have a teddy bear and a doll and a wabbit with one ear."

"What happened to the other ear?" he asked, trying his best to disguise the choked emotion in his voice.

"I cut it off when I was berry little. I found Mommy's scissors and cut it off. I got into big twouble didn't I Mommy?"

Rebekah's throat felt too tight to get the words out. "Yes...I was very worried you could have hurt yourself."

"Will you read me a story?" Emily asked her father. "Mommy always reads me a story and sometimes if I'm berry good she makes one up in her head. Can you do dat?"

"I'll give it a try." Ted said. "What sort of stories do you like?"

Emily wriggled underneath the covers. "I like the ones with a happy ending. Do you have any of those in your head?"

"I guess I could try to find one." He said, scratching his temple.

"The best ones start with once upon a time." She told him with solemn authority. "I can start you off if you like."

He smiled down at her, his heart feeling so big it felt as if it was taking over his body. "That would be great."

She took a little preparatory breath that reminded him so much of Rebekah he could scarcely inflate his own lungs.

"Once upon a time..." She gave him an impish grin. "Now, it's your turn."

"Okay." He said and settled himself on the bed beside her. "Once upon a time there was a beautiful little girl who was called Emily..."

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	18. Chapter 18

"Is she asleep?" Rebekah asked when Ted joined her in the main suite some time later.

"Yes." He pushed his hand through his hair and began to pace the room, anger and tension visible in each and every stride.

"She twisted her hands together, her mouth drying in anguish "Ted..."

He turned to glare at her. "I have missed out on so much. Do you have any idea what that feels like? I have nothing! No memories of her as a baby—nothing. You have taken that from me."

"I tried to tell you."

"You should have kept trying."

"For how long?" She asked, her tone bordering on despair. "My mother was dying, my sister was going off the rails and I was juggling my studies with a difficult pregnancy. I know it's hard for you to understand, but I felt I had no choice but to leave you to your life while I did my best to get on with mine. The words you said to me that last day…" She stumbled over the memory and continued, her voice ragged with emotion. "I was so hurt. The way you spoke made me worried that if by some chance you did come around to believe me you might force me into having an abortion. I couldn't take the risk. That's why I didn't try and contact you again until I had passed the point of no return."

"I would not have asked that of you." His voice sounded as if it was coming from very deep inside him.

She gave him an embittered look. "Wouldn't you?" Come on, Ted, don't you remember what you said to me? You told me I wasn't to be believed, that I was a slut who had her eye on snaring herself a billionaire. Not exactly the words I wanted to hear when I was trying to do the right thing by telling you."

He let out a heavy sigh. "I deeply regret how I handled the situation. But if you had persisted in trying to contact me I would have come around eventually."

"Yes and whipped her away from me as you're threatening to do now."

"I want her in my life. I am not leaving without her. You have the choice of marrying me and coming with us or letting her go."

"That's not what I call a choice. It's blackmail."

"I don't care what you call it, Rebekah. I want my daughter and I am prepared to marry you to have her."

"Well, thanks very much for the romantic proposal?" She said with a cutting edge to her voice.

"What do you expect me to say?" He glowered at her. "I am still so angry with you I can barely think straight."

"You should be angry at yourself, not me. If you hadn't been so arrogantly assured of my guilt you wouldn't have missed out on Emily at all. Have you considered that, Ted? What if I wasn't guilty? What then?"

His throat moved up and down convulsively and it was a moment or two before he answered. "You have to be guilty."

"Why?" She looked at him coldly. "So you can still be the good guy, the injured one, the one with victim written all over your face?"

"There have been no thefts since." He said. "And certainly none before you came."

"So that somehow makes me automatically responsible?" She looked at him incredulously. "Oh, for God's sake, Ted, surely you're not that blindsided?"

"I don't wish to talk about that incident?" He turned away from her and began to pace again. "I wish to discuss how we will manage things from now on."

"I can't leave until the exhibition is launched. I can't let Jerry down like that."

"All right." He turned to face her once more. "We will stay from you to complete your commitments to the exhibition, but in the meantime we will formalize our relationship. I will see to it tomorrow."

"Emily doesn't have a passport."

"Why the hell not?"

"Strange as it may seem to someone with the disgusting wealth you have taken for granted all of your life, other people, especially single mothers, do not have the money to travel the length of the globe. I have had to put food on the table and pay for childcare so I could work, even thought I didn't want to when Emily was a baby. It broke my heart leaving her with strangers while my breasts ached and leaked all day.

His features twisted with anguish. "You struggled like that without once trying again to contact me?"

She turned away in disgust. "What would have been the point? I was sick of beating my head against a brick wall. Look at the way you treated me the first day you were here. You've made it pretty clear how low your opinion of me was."

"I admit I left you with little choice that first night, but why did you agree to see me again? You could have told me you were not interested and left it at that."

"I did tell you I wasn't interested but you kept dangling threats over my head." She reminded him coldly. "Then when you said you wanted us to meet as friends...I thought it would be good for us to establish a relationship based on mutual respect…I thought that it would be a better way of revealing the truth about Emily. I didn't want to spring it on you; neither did I want you to find out some other way."

His hand carved another rough pathway through his hair. "I want to believe you, Rebekah, but everything in me warns me against lowering my guard. You ripped my heart from my chest four years ago and you have done it again by keeping my daughter from me. How can I trust you?"

Tears burned in her eyes. "More to the point, how can I trust you?" She asked. "You have threatened me from the word go, blackmailing me into a relationship and leaving me no choice but to lie to protect Emily and myself. I hated lying to you. I loathe all forms of deceit. I grew up with my father's lies and I have enough on my plate with my sister's without making up my own."

"Rebekah..."

He took a step towards her but she held her hand to ward him off. "No, don't. Please I can't bear it. I hate what's happened to us. We had such a lovely relationship…You were the most wonderful man I'd ever met...so warm and vibrant. I loved you with all of my heart. I would never have done anything to hurt you, but you've destroyed it all. You're angry at missing out on Emily's life so far, but what about what I've missed out on?" Tears were running down her cheeks and she brushed at them angrily. "Have you ever stopped to think of that? Have you?"

Ted swallowed back the raw pain in his throat. He wasn't used to so much emotion overloading his system. Four years ago he had shut off his feelings; only the loss of Kelly had resurrected them before he had locked them away again behind a bolted door in his brain. But he felt now as if Rebekah was picking the lock, her own emotions seeping under the door to reach his…

"What have you missed out on, Rebekah? Tell me."

He saw her chest lift and fall in a ragged sigh. "I felt so alone when I came back to New York… My mother was diagnosed with breast cancer the same week I had the pregnancy confirmed. I was so torn. There were so many people depending on me. Jennie was devastated by mom's diagnosis and began to experiment with drugs to blunt the pain. She never really got over my father's suicide while he was in prison. She adored him and being so young, she didn't quite understand why he would do that. I threw myself into my studies, knowing I would have to provide for my child and possibly Jennie as well. I had no one to turn to, no one to tell how scared I was. I hadn't even held a baby before and suddenly I was expecting one."

Ted felt his chest tighten to the point of pain. How had he been so blind and unfeeling? Even if she was as guilty as he believed her to be, it did not excuse his treatment of her since. "I don't know what to say..."

She gave him a bleak look. "I guess sorry is out of the question. You're too proud to admit you got it wrong."

"I am sorry you have had to deal with this alone. But you will no longer have to do so. We will be together from now on to give Emily all that she deserves as a much loved daughter."

"But she won't have two parents who love each other." She reminded him. "That's what every child deserves."

"In this day and age it is rare for both parents to remain together, let alone maintain the level of affection. We will no doubt become friends over time."

"We didn't do so well on the friends thing before."

"Yes, well I am perhaps to blame for that." He admitted. "I cannot seem to help myself around you. I am still fiercely attracted to you."

"Which you hate yourself for, remember?"

"You have said much the same, Rebekah."

She shifted her gaze. "So, you're expecting our marriage to be normal...as in sex and all that."

"I am a little intrigued as to what exactly you are referring to as "all that" but yes—I would hope that we will maintain as normal a relationship as possible. It will be good for Emily to grow up in a family atmosphere."

Rebekah looked down at her hands for a moment. "She likes you...Emily; I mean…In fact, I think she already loves you…"

He cleared his throat. "She is a beautiful child. I cannot believe she is really mine."

Her eyes sprang back to his defensively. "If you feel the need to have a paternity test done I won't stop you."

He frowned at her expression. "I was not for the moment suggesting—"

"Yes, you were, go on—admit it. I can see the flicker of doubt in your eyes. What if she's lying again, foisting some other man's brat on me to get more money? That's what you're thinking, isn't it?"

He let out a frustrated breath. "This is a going nowhere discussion. I can see Emily is mine. I do not need a test to confirm it."

"What if she didn't look like you?" She asked with an accusing glare. "I bet you'd be swabbing her mouth with a dip tick and rushing it off to the nearest DNA lab as soon as you could."

"Is there some doubt in your own mind as to who is her father?"

Her eyes turned to twin points of angry blue flame. "How can you ask that?"

"It's a reasonable question, I would have thought. It's been four years; surely there have been other men in your life."

"There hasn't been anyone since you."

"For someone who claims to abhor being deceitful, you show a remarkable talent for it."

Rebekah swung away in fury. "Here we go again. You refuse to believe a single word I say. This is never going to work."

"It will work because we will make it work. We are both committed to Emily. She is my biggest priority now. I want to spend time getting to know her, catching up on all I missed out on before."

She held her arms close to her body without turning around. "I have photos and video of her first steps and words; I've kept everything…even her baby clothes…"

"I would like to see them some time."

"I'll collect them from my apartment."

"About your apartment..." Ted paused before continuing. "Does your sister live there with you permanently?"

Rebekah turned back to look at him. "No...She comes and goes a bit but I've never encouraged her to move in with us."

His expression was thoughtful as he watched her for a moment.

"I think she's beyond help." She added in a defeated tone, her eyes falling away from his. "I've done everything I can... I only agreed to your terms so I could help her but she used that money to pay back her dealer." Her shoulders dropped another level as she continued. "I would have even slept with you that first night if it would have brought her back. I would have done anything, but sometimes anything and everything is just not enough..."

"You look exhausted." Somehow Ted got his voice into gear. "You can have the bed. I'll sleep on the sofa."

"Are you sure?"

Her grateful look was like an arrow to his heart. He stretched his mouth into the semblance of a smile. "Go to bed, Rebekah. You have no need to fear my attentions tonight" He moved toward the door.

"Ted?"

He brought his gaze back to hers. "I am going out for a short while. I would like to spend the next few days with Emily, if I may. You will have a full three weeks ahead with the launch of the exhibition. Emily and I can spend the time getting to know one another. With her arm so tender I would not like to have her bumped by other children at childcare."

Fresh tears washed into Rebekah's eyes at his concern for his little daughter, but before she could assemble the words to tell him how touched she was he had already left.

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	19. Chapter 19

"You should see the hordes of people coming in." Kendall said three weeks later. "This is going down as one of the highlights of the museum's year."

Rebekah wondered what her colleague would say if she told her it had been one of the worst periods of her life. She had gone from highs to lows within the space of seconds each day as she had juggled work and her tricky relationship with Ted. Her only consolation had Emily's rapid acceptance of her father. Her little face had beamed from ear to ear each day as he had taken her out to entertain her. Rebekah had had to bite her tongue to stop herself from commenting on the expensive toys he had brought, for she realized he was doing his best to make up for lost time.

Jennie had left a message on her cell saying she was finally getting help but Rebekah found it hard to feel confident that she would in fact do so. She had heard nothing from her since, even though she had left countless messages on her answering service. The apartment had been cleaned out and Rebekah's and Emily's things transferred to the hotel but she still didn't feel as if she belonged there.

Ted was polite to her but he seemed intent on avoiding her at every opportunity. He would insist on putting Emily to bed each night but he would go out afterwards and it would be the early hours of the morning before Rebekah would hear him return to his makeshift bed on the sofa. She had put her pride aside one night and suggested he shared the bed with her but he had declined the offer with what she could only describe as cold disdain.

"You must be excited about your wedding this weekend." Kendall said. "Everyone's talking about it."

"It's to be very quiet affair."

"It's so romantic—Ted DiBiase being Emily's father and all. Mind you, I knew it from the moment I saw him."

Rebekah gave her a weak smile without responding.

"This trip to London is just what you need." Kendall continued. "You look like you need a holiday. This has been a huge workload for you, but Jerry is well on the mend and champing at the bit to get back. By the time you return he'll be back on board."

"I'm only going to be away from two weeks."

"You should be taking longer; after all this is your honeymoon. You won't even have to work anymore if you don't want to. Why not lie back and enjoy it?"

Why not, indeed? Rebekah thought. The only trouble was her husband couldn't bear to be in the same room as her.

For some reason Rebekah couldn't quite fathom, Ted had insisted on a church wedding. The ceremony, though brief, was traditional and Emily proudly attended them as a flower girl, her little floral basket adorned with ribbons swinging from her hands as she walked up the aisle with a solemn look on her tiny face.

Ted winked at her and her little face instantly split into a broad smile and Rebekah felt her heart begin to crack. He had done so much in such a short time to build a bridge with his daughter. They had the sort of relationship she had never had with her own father—loving, playful and totally accepting.

The only slight hitch in the proceedings was the kiss during ceremony. Rebekah told herself it was more or less a formal procedure that the congregation expected, but it didn't stop her lips from clinging to Ted's with escalating need. He was the first to move away, which hurt her but she disguised it behind a forced smile as they moved to sign the license.

Emily was bouncing up and down with excitement as the reception drew to a close. "Are we going on the aeropwane yet?"

"Soon, darling." Rebekah said as she gathered her close to her side. "One more sleep."

"I'm going to meet my granny, aren't I? Daddy told me."

"Yes, you are, precious."

"Can I take all of my toys to show her?"

"Only your very special ones."

"She can take whatever she wants." Ted said, putting his hand on Emily's silky head in a proprietary manner.

Rebekah's blue gaze tussled with his blue one before she finally gave in. "I'm sure Daddy will help you pack everything you need."

"Are you mad at Daddy?" Emily asked as her thumb slid towards her mouth.

"No, of course not." She lied, shooting Ted a blistering glare over the top of Emily's head.

"I don't want you to be mad at Daddy. I love him."

Rebekah felt her throat tighten and bent down to her daughter's level. "I know you do, darling and I...I...I…er…love him too. I've just had a lot to deal with lately with the wedding and the exhibition and all."

"Do you weally love him?" Emily looked at her entreatingly.

Rebekah pasted a bright smile on her face. "How could I not love the father of my little girl?"

Ted took his daughter's hand. "Come on, little one. We have to say goodbye to some guests."

Rebekah let out her breath once they had gone and turned to face another guest who wanted to congratulate her. She comforted herself with the thought that Ted thought her a consummate liar. How would he know she was this time actually telling truth?

Once Emily had settled for the night Ted came out to the main suite where Rebekah was flicking idly through a magazine. She was aware of him standing there watching her but kept her head down, pretending an absorption in an article on home improvement hints.

"I would like to speak to you." He said.

She turned over to another page without looking up. "What about?"

He closed the distance between them and removed the magazine from her hands.

"Hey, I was reading that!" She scowled at him.

He tossed the magazine to the floor, his dark features etched with anger. "You are so determined to ignore me but I will not tolerate it, Rebekah."

"You've ignored me for the past three weeks." She threw back resentfully. "You've barely addressed a single word to me unless Emily's been present. Then of course you're all sweetness and charm. What a hypocrite."

"You are just as guilty of pretending something you do not feel. Emily is going to be confused by your mixed messages if you do not control your propensity to insult me at every opportunity. She is an intelligent and highly sensitive child, who is already picking up on the antagonistic atmosphere between us. She shows signs of deep insecurity. I have noticed when you and I are together she sucks her thumb much more than when she is alone with me."

"So what are you suggesting?" Her eyes challenged his. "That we kiss and make up?"

"That would be a very good start."

She sprang off the sofa in agitation. "You can go to hell."

He caught her by the arm and turned her around to face him. "We are husband and wife now, Rebekah. We are travelling to London tomorrow, where it will be expected we will share a bed. I do not want anyone, particularly my mother, to think there is anything amiss in our relationship."

"You mean you haven't told her the truth?"

"No, of course not." He said, dropping his hand from her arm. "I wanted her to enjoy her first grandchild without worrying there maybe be no others for her to look forward to in the not so distant future."

She stared at him in shock, her stomach turning over itself. "You want another child?" She swallowed deeply. "With me?"

"You find the notion unsettling?"

"I find the notion outrageous!"

His jaw tensed and a hardened look came into his blue eyes. "I do not see the problem. We already have one child. It is only natural to want to add to our family a little brother or sister for Emily to grow up with."

"Our family, as you call it, it a sham! You're making me out to be some sort of breeding machine. How can you possibly think of bringing another child into this mess?"

"It will only be a mess if you do not agree to cooperate in an adult and mature fashion."

"I fail to see what is adult and mature about your behavior. You've held me to ransom from the word go."

"I do have some regrets over the way I handled our relationship." He confessed with a small frown disturbing his forehead. "I should not have treated you the way I did that first night."

"Oh, wow, is that an apology I hear? Does "some regrets" mean you're actually admitting to having made a mistake? How on earth will you cope with having put a black mark on your pristine copybook?"

"Actually it is an apology of sorts." He said, meeting her eyes once more. "I had underestimated your commitment to your sister. Your devotion to her is remarkable considering what she has put you through. It shows you have a forgiving side to our nature."

"Unlike you." She couldn't resist throwing back at him.

"No, perhaps you are right." He said with another regretful frown. "I do find it hard to let go of resentment. I tend to brood on things, which has a tendency over time to blow everything out of proportion."

Rebekah had to fight the urge to be mollified by his grudging confession. She wanted to be angry with him. She needed to be angry with him to keep herself safe from further hurt.

"I want this to work, not just for Emily, but us." He said into the taut silence. "She is a beautiful little girl. I cannot tell you what it means to me to have her in my life. I do not know how to thank you for choosing to go ahead with the pregnancy. So many young women, given the circumstances, would not have done so."

Rebekah had to clamp her bottom lip between her teeth to hold back her emotion. She had agonized over what to do in those first few weeks, especially when her mother had become so desperately ill and her sister so obviously in need of her support. But she had not been able to bring herself to rid herself of the one thing that still connected her to Ted.

"I loved her from the moment I knew I was I carrying her…"

Ted stepped forward and brushed a gentle hand across her cheek, the gesture so poignant and unexpected she had trouble keeping the moisture from spilling from her eyes as she raised them to his.

"I love her too." He said his voice unmistakenably husky. "I would do anything for her."

She gave him a twisted look. "You've certainly demonstrated that by marrying me—the woman you hate more than any other."

He held her gaze for interminable seconds, his blue, unfathomable eyes boring into hers until she was sure he was seeing her soul laid bare.

"Perhaps in time we will not be so fervent in our distrust of each other." He remarked. "After all, we desire one another, so there is hope that somewhere amongst all the ill feeling there is something that could be more lasting."

Rebekah wanted to believe him but her only hope was for her name to be cleared. How could he ever develop the feelings he'd had for her before while he still believed her guilty of betraying him in such a despicable way?

Ted brushed a strand of her hair away from her mouth, the touch of his fingers sending a wave of deep longing through her.

"Come to bed, Becca." He said gently. "This is the first night of our new life together. We should start it as we mean to go on."

She moistened her dry lips, her stomach giving a little kick of excitement deep inside. "You mean…sleep together."

His eyes darkened as he outlined the curve of her mouth with his fingertip. "Is that not what husbands and wives do?"

"Yes…but…"

He moved closer, half a step, but it was enough to bring his body into intimate contact with hers. She felt the heat emanating off him, scorching her from the waist down as his desire for her became apparent. She could feel his swollen thickness pressing against her, making her heart begin to race at the thought of feeling him moving inside her.

His mouth descended as she tipped hers upwards, somehow meeting in the middle with an explosion of feeling. His tongue drove through the shield of her lips in search of hers, calling it into a tantalizing dance that mimicked the stroke and sensual glide of his physical possession. Her body strained to get closer, her breasts swelling with need as his hands moved over them to shape them possessively.

His kiss deepened with urgency, her lips crushed beneath his as his mouth fed hungrily off hers as if the past three weeks without touching her had driven him to the very limit of his control. He lifted his mouth from hers as he backed her toward the bed, his eyes glazed with passion. "It is always this way with you." He said his tone rough and deep. "I only have to touch you and I want to drive myself into you and explode."

His words fuelled her need of him to fever pitch. She clung to him, her mouth searching for his in desperation as he pressed her to the bed, his long legs entrapping hers. She fought with his clothes in her quest to find his naked skin, her mouth anointing him with hot little kisses as soon as his shirt and trousers were dispensed with.

Ted drew in a sharp-edged little breath and she moved her way down his body to taste him, her tongue a tormenting pleasure as it licked and stroked in turn. He dug his hands into the cloud of her trousled hair as she drew on him, the suckling motion of her mouth lifting every single hair on his scalp in exquisite delight.

He could stand it no longer and pushed her away, his hands taking control hers by holding them above her head. She squirmed and writhed beneath him as he used his other hand to remove her top so he could caress her breasts, his mouth taking each one in turn until she was whimpering with pleasure.

"Oh, please….." She panted and grabbed at him impatiently as he took his time removing the rest of her clothes.

"Be patient." He growled playfully as he kissed his way past her cleavage to her belly button, lingering there a moment to insert the tip of his tongue into the tiny sensitive cave.

She felt him momentarily tense as he came to her Cesarean scar, his eyes coming back to hers with a question in their blue depths. "You had a difficult delivery?" He asked his tone deep and huskier than normal.

"Yes…I was in labor for twenty-four hours and Emily was getting distressed…I had to have an emergency Cesarean."

A shadow of regret flicked in and out of his gaze. "Was anyone there with you to support you?"

Her breath caught in her throat as his fingers splayed over her belly where his child had lain for nine months. How she had longed for him to have been present on that day. To encourage her to keep going, to mop her brow and hold her hand through every contraction as it marched back through her abdomen. Hearing that first mewing cry had been one of the happiest yet loneliest moments of Rebekah's life. She had held that sticky, wriggling little body to her chest and grieved that Ted had not been there to share in the joy and relief of Emily's birth.

"No…" She said, unable to hold his gaze. "My mother had died three weeks earlier and Jennie...well I'm not sure to this day where she was…She'd promise to be with me...but…"

He topped up her chin to bring her eyes back to his. "Rebekah..." He seemed to be having trouble speaking, his throat was moving up and down but no further sound came out.

"It's all right." She said with a tight little smile. "I had a good midwife and the doctor was wonderful."

His eyes moved back to her scar and his fingers traced over it gently. "Did it hurt?"

"Not as much as the thought of losing her. I would have gone through any pain to avoid that. I still would."

His expression was thoughtful as he looked deep into her eyes as if he was seeing her for the very first time. "You have done well to raise her alone.

"Thank you…"

He bent his head to reclaim her mouth, the passion rekindling in the first movement of his tongue against hers as his hand moved from her belly to the secret treasure below.

Rebekah let out a tiny gasp as his fingers separated her, her back arching as he stroked the tender nub of aroused flesh that pulsed and flickered with longing. He lifted his mouth from hers and moved down her body, the intimate invasion of his lips and tongue sending her out of control. She sobbed with the sheer force of her response as it rocketed throughout her body like a thousand miniature earthquakes.

Her breathing was still nowhere near normal when he moved back over her, his weight stabilized by his arms as he entered her with a deep, gliding thrust, his low grunt of satisfaction sending a shivery feeling over her skin. He drove harder and deeper, carrying her along with him on a fast ride to paradise, the tension building all over again as she matched his rhythm.

His skin was hot and damp on hers, his strong legs were like a vice holding hers apart for the next deep surge and retreat of his body. She could feel him approaching the ultimate moment, his breathing beginning to get harder and faster and his body tensing all over, as if poised on a precipitous edge. She lifted her hips slightly but it was enough to tip him over. He gave a deep shuddering groan and spilled himself, the pumping movement against her swollen femininity sending her into oblivion with him.

Rebekah let out a sigh of total relaxation as her body gradually floated back to earth, her eyelids feeling as if they were weighted with anvils as she snuggled into the warmth of his collapsed weight above hers.

"Am I too heavy for you?" he asked against the creamy softness of her neck.

"No…" She gave another little sigh and wrapped her arms around his waist. "No, you feel wonderful…"

It was a while before Ted realized she had fallen asleep. Her breathing was relaxed and even and her body totally pliant, all except for her arms. They were holding him as if they never wanted to let him go…

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	20. Chapter 20

As soon as the plane touched down in London, Rebekah felt her stomach being to twist and tighten with nerves. It had been a pleasant flight, all things considered. Certainly the luxury of Ted's private jet had more than a little to do with it, but in spite of that she couldn't help noticing a softening of his attitude towards her. He had chatted to her on neutral subjects during the time she had been unable to sleep, his demeanor showing no sign of his earlier anger or resentment. She wondered if it was for the benefit of his attentive staff or whether he was genuinely trying to put the past aside and build a bridge of friendship with her.

She couldn't help but wonder how older woman would receive her, especially since Rebekah had kept the existence of her only grandchild a secret. She also couldn't help wondering how Ted had explained his hasty marriage. His mother was too astute to be fooled into thinking it was a love match. Melanie was close to her son and would soon see for herself the cracks in his relationship with his new wife.

"Are we dere yet?" Emily asked with a sleep yawn as their luggage was put into an awaiting car.

"No quite, darling." Rebekah said, cuddling her close.

Ted met her eyes briefly and he gave her one of his slow smiles. "Would you like me to hold her for you?" He offered. "You look tired."

"Okay, thanks." She handed Emily to him, her hands brushing against his. She felt the exchange of sexual energy and her skin began to tighten all over in reaction.

"My mother will be thrilled to see Emily." He said as she stroked his daughter's sleepy head where it was resting against his shoulder. "You have no need to be concerned over anything else."

She gnawed at her lip without answering.

"Truly, Rebekah." He assured her. "The past is not going to be mentioned while we are here."

"That doesn't mean it's going to go away." She said as they got into the car.

Ted watched as she moved towards the car, her shoulders bowed with exhaustion, her blond hair falling in cascading waves about her shoulders, the normally smooth creamy skin of her face now looking pinched and white.

He felt something catch in his chest, like a small sharp tug on the feelings he had locked away four years ago. Although he hadn't told her he had loved her in so many words, her bubbly nature and enthusiasm for life had been so refreshing. She had captivated him from the very first moment their eyes had met across a crowded restaurant. He had felt a connection that had been instant, electric and enthralling and, even now, in spite of what she had done, he could still feel it beating like a pulse deep inside him. Maybe she was right the past was not going to go away. It would stay with them like a menacing presence, casting a long dark shadow of uncertainty over their lives….

Melanie was waiting for them in the doorway, her arms outstretched for Emily who had not long ago woken up.

"Are you my granny?"

Rebekah saw the bright tears in Ted's mother's eyes as she reached for her only grandchild and felt a lump come to her already tight throat.

"Oh, my darling one." The older woman crooned, her voice breaking over the words. "You are the image of Kelly."

Ted smiled and bent down to kiss his mother. "She is a beautiful child, Mama."

Melanie turned her dark brown eyes to Rebekah, her expression warm and welcoming. "It is good to see you, Rebekah. I am so glad you are here and a part of our family."

Rebekah found it hard to know what to say in response. She stretched her lips into a smile and offered a hand but Melanie ignored it to press a soft kiss to both of her cheeks, with Emily still locked in her embrace.

"It's good to be here again…" She mumbled.

Emily rubbed at her eyes. "Do you want to see my special toys?" She asked her grandmother.

Melanie's eyes brightened. "I would love to see your special toys. Did you bring them all this way with you?"

"Mommy wasn't going to let me, but Daddy said I could." Emily said with a borderline reproachful glance in Rebekah's direction.

"I am sure you mommy was worried about your things taking up too much room." Melanie said graciously.

"Do you have a swimming pool?" Emily asked as she slipped her tiny hand into her grandmother's outstretched one.

"Yes, we do." Melanie smiled. "Would you like to see it?"

Emily turned to Rebekah with a beseeching look. "Can I Mommy?"

Rebekah nodded, her face cracking on a smile, "Of course you can."

"Can you swim?" Emily asked her grandmother as they made their way through the house to the sun-drenched terrace outside.

"But of course." Melanie replied. "Can you?"

"Only a little bit." Emily confessed as her thumb began to move toward her mouth. "Mommy has been taking me to lessons but I'm not berry good."

Ted turned to Rebekah once they had gone, his expression softened with concern. "Are you all right? You look very pale."

"I don't know why I feel so exhausted." She said, rubbing the center of her forehead. "Maybe it's the heat. Would you mind if I lie down for a while?"

"Of course not." He said with another one of his rarely used smiles. "My mother will relish this opportunity to get to know her granddaughter."

"If Emily needs me, please wake me up." Rebekah said a few minutes later when Ted had shown her to their room.

"Do not worry about her." He said as he pulled a cool sheet over her. "She will undoubtedly soon crash from jet lag just as you are doing now."

"I never used to suffer from jet lag." She said as she brought a hand up to cover her aching eyes. "I used to trip between time zones without a problem."

"You have been working hard for the last few weeks."

"Yes..." Her soft sigh deflated her chest as she nestled into the pillows and closed her eyes. "I guess you're right...It's been one hell of a month…"

"If you do not feel up to joining us for dinner do not worry." He said. "I can get the housekeeper to bring something up to your room."

Rebekah felt her stomach shrink away at the thought of food and buried her head further into the soft-as-air pillow. "I'm not hungry…"

"My mother is the happiest I have seen her in two years." He said after a long silence.

She opened her eyes to look at him. "I'm glad…I really am…"

"The loss of a child is huge in a mother's life." He said, looking down at his hands for a moment before bringing his blue, unreadable eyes back to hers. "I hope you will forgive me for threatening to take Emily from you. If things do not work out between us, I will try to ensure she has regular contact with you."

"Thank you…." She murmured, wondering if she could trust him to keep his word.

"You have been a good mother to her." He said. "Do not be hurt by her occasional divided loyal ties. It is understandable that she will be trying to work out who is now in charge. Children do that in order to feel secure; there is nothing personal in it, I am sure."

"I could never afford the toys you've bought for her." She said, not quite able to remove the hint of resentment in her tone.

He put his hand on her shoulder, the warmth of his palm seeping through her skin like a brand. "I am only trying to make up for lost time. The things I buy for her are not bribes to win her away from you."

Rebekah did nothing to hide the cynicism in her eyes as they connected with his. "I can't compete with overseas holidays and expensive gifts. I can only give her myself."

His hand dropped from her shoulder as his expression tightened. "You at least have had that opportunity for the last three years. I have not."

She buried her head into the pillow, her voice sounding muffled as she spoke. "Please close the door. I don't want to be disturbed."

"I do not like it when you turn away from me when I am speaking to you."

"Get over it."

She heard his indrawn breath, his anger at her curt dismissal pulsing in the air. "Look at me, Rebekah." He commanded.

She flipped over to her back to fling him a frosty look. "Just because we're married doesn't mean you can order me about all the time. If you wanted a complaint wife, then you should have married someone of your own culture. No doubt they would have sat at your feet licking your boots in subservience. If I don't want to look at you, I won't and there is nothing you can do to make me."

His eyes flickered with fury at her mutinous glare, his hand in tight knots by his sides as he ground out. "You are the most maddening woman I have ever met. I am trying to bring about peace in our relationship and yet you consistently resist all of my attempts to effect a truce."

Her eyes flashed back at him. "I don't trust you, that's why. For all I know, you could be leading me up the garden path, making me fall in love with you all over again before you snatch Emily away from me."

"It is not my intention to have you fall in love with me."

Rebekah felt her anger draining away to make room for her disappointment. She felt it gradually filling her chest until she could scarcely breathe from the weight of it. She fought hard to hide it from him, schooling her features into bland indifference. "Good, then at least you won't be setting yourself up for disappointment. So what happens then?"

"We will deal with that when it happens." He answered evenly.

"Are you talking weeks or months or years?"

His blue eyes were as unfathomable as ever as they held on to hers. "I would hazard a guess and say it could take some time for me to flush you out of my system."

She rolled her eyes in disdain. "You make me sound like some sort of unpleasant stomach virus."

His mouth stretched into an unwilling smile. "That is indeed what it feels like at times." He conceded.

"Yeah, well, you're more or less a major pain in the rear end for me too." she tossed back.

He was still smiling. "I will come in later to check on you."

She turned her head back into the pillow. "Don't bother."

"It is no bother; beside, my mother will suspect something is wrong if I do not act like a devoted husband. She is delighted we are together again."

Rebekah lifted her head out of the downy pillow to look at him. "Why? Has she suddenly changed her mind about what happened four years ago?"

"This may surprise you, but my mother always found it difficult to believe you were responsible."

She hunted his expression, hoping for some sign of his own belief in her innocence, but as far as she could tell there was none. The blade of his gaze relentlessly dissected hers until she was the first to look away.

"What a pity she wasn't able to convince you of the same." She said, looking down at her hands where they were twisting the hem of the sheet covering her.

The silence stretched and stretched until it was finally broken by the slow release of his sigh.

"Yes." He said as her eyes slowly came back to his. "Yes, perhaps it is."

She ran her tongue over the parchment of her lips. "Ted…."

He reached out with a fingertip and pressed her mouth closed. "No more talking of the past, Rebekah."

He gave her a crooked smile and bending down, replaced his finger with his mouth in a soft brush-like kiss that made her lips cling momentarily to his as he pulled away.

She watched as he moved to the door, the words to call him back locked in the middle of her throat. What would be the point in telling him she loved him? It wasn't what he wanted from her. Not now, not again, not ever.

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	21. Chapter 21

Rebekah opened her eyes during the early hours of the morning to see Ted lying beside her, his deep and even breathing indicating he was sound asleep. She lay looking at him, her fingers itching to reach out and touch his shadowed jaws, to trace the sensual curve of his mouth. His legs moved until they were touching hers, her whole body shivering. His lips moved and soft breathless sound came out. "Maryse…"

Her eyes widened, her whole body freezing in shock. Her stomach hollowed in anguish as she edged away, her limbs feeling uncoordinated and useless as she got awkwardly out of the bed. She heard the sound of him moving behind her.

"Rebekah?"

She turned to gave him an acidic glare. "Yep, that's me. Nice of you to remember my name."

He eased himself up on one elbow, his brows moving together over his still sleepy eyes. "What the hell are you talking about?"

She folded her arm crossly. "You were calling out for your lover."

He brought a hand up to his jaw and gave it a quick rub. "Which one?"

"You mean there's more than one?"

"I am not sure how to answer. You surely did not expect me to celibate for the past four years?"

She turned away in disgust. "Please spare me the sordid details of your sexual exploits."

"You are jealous."

She swung back around to deny it but the room began to spin alarmingly and she clutched at midair to steady herself. "No…" She tottered for a moment, her eyes trying to focus on something stable, but even the bed seemed to be in motion.

Ted leapt out of bed and reached for her before she toppled forward. "Here, sit down and put your head between your knees." He said as he gently directed her back to the bed.

Rebekah did as he said, closing her eyes so she didn't have to cope with the rolling of the floor as well.

"Are you feeling unwell?" He asked.

She groaned as a wave of nausea rose like a swelling tide in her stomach. "Oh, God…I think I'm going to be sick…"

She only just made it to the en suite bathroom in time before she threw up the meager contents of her stomach.

Ted rinsed the mess away and using the sink quickly rinsed a face cloth and handed it to her. "I think I should call the doctor." He said. "You must have picked up a bug of some sort from the flight."

Rebekah clutched at the sink as the room began to spin out of control again. She could hear his voice coming at her through a vacuum, the concern in his tone moving further and further away from her. She turned her head sideways to try and bring him back into focus but he was a dark blur. She felt her legs folding, leaving her without support. Even her fingers gradually lost their grip, the tingling of her fingertips making her feel as if shifting grains of sand were beneath her skin instead of flesh and blood.

She felt Ted take her weight as she slipped sideways, her eyelashes struggling to keep open, but the sickening swirl of the bathroom was too much to her. She gave in to the lure of dark oblivion with a soft sigh of resignation…

"How long as she been unwell?"

Rebekah opened her eyes at the sound of the heavily accented voice. She saw Ted standing by the bedside with a man carrying what looked to be a doctor's bag.

"I'm not unwell." She said, struggling upright. "I'm fine now…"

Ted pressed her back down gently. "No, indeed you are not. Dr. McIntyre will take your temperature at the very least. What you have might be catching. I do not want Emily's first real holiday to be spoilt by illness."

Rebekah flopped back down. She didn't have the energy to fight him and certainly not in front of the doctor. "All right, but I can assure you its just jet lag."

The doctor took her temperature and gave a shrug. "No, she is not running a fever." He said and reached for his portable blood pressure machine.

"I told you I'm perfectly fine."

"When was your last menstrual period?" The doctor asked as her blood pressure was measured.

Rebekah could feel her face heating under the watchful gaze of Ted. "Um…I've been a bit irregular lately…"

"Which means we cannot exactly rule out the possibility of pregnancy." Dr. McIntyre said and reached for a syringe.

"What are you doing?"

"I would like to run a few blood tests on you as well as a pregnancy test." He said as he placed a tourniquet on her arm. "Fainting is often associated with anemia. Have you been feeling unusually tired of late?"

"Yes." She winced as the needle pricked her skin. "Ouch!"

"I am sorry." The doctor said, releasing the tourniquet. "You have small veins."  
>He placed a band aid on the puncture site and gave her a reassuring smile. "I am sure this will tell us what we need to know. In the meantime I suggest you get as much rest as you can."<p>

Ted escorted the doctor out and after a few minutes, returned with a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice. "Emily is with my mother. She has had breakfast and is keen to go swimming."

"Doesn't she want to see me?"

"I told her you were resting." He said. "I do not want her to worry unnecessarily."

Rebekah could feel her resentment building. "I told you I am not sick, Ted."

"We will not know that until the test results come in."

"Anemia is not contagious."

"You might have any number of things wrong." He pointed out. "I would like to play safe until we know for sure."

"You're doing this deliberately, aren't you?" She sent him an accusing glare. "You're nudging me out of Emily's life so she won't miss me when you get rid of me for the second time."

He looked down at her with a brooding expression. "You are developing a persecution complex. I have no intention of getting rid of you. Our relationship will not end until such time as we both desire it."

"If you were being truthful you'd admit you'd like to end it right now. So you can get on with your relationship with Maryse or whatever her name is."

"Maryse is the housekeeper. I must have heard you moving and unconsciously thought it was her coming in to change the bed or something."

"So you're been sleeping with the hired help again?" She said with a scornful look. "I thought you would have learned from your past mistakes."

"You have been the only mistake I have made and it is not one I am proud of." He bit out.

"Gee, thanks." She tossed back. "Nice to know I made an impression."

His eyes went upwards as if in search of patience. "I do not want to argue with you. You are not well."

"How many times do I have to say I'm fine?"

"I want you to stay in bed for the day."

She thrust the sheet aside and got out of bed to defy him. "I will do no such thing."

Blue eyes warred in a fiery challenge that Rebekah knew she had no hope of winning. Her stomach was already churning all over again and her legs wobbling beneath her.

"Get back into bed." He said.

She pulled back her shoulders. "No."

"Get in or I will make you get in."

"I'd like to see you try."

"Is that a dare?" He asked.

"No, it's a warning that if you come anywhere near me I will scream."

He smiled a devilish smile as he stepped closer. "My mother will assume you are voicing your intense pleasure at being in my arms."

Rebekah looked for an escape route but the bed was in the way. "Don't touch me."

"Why?" He asked with a glint in his blue eyes. "In case you respond?"

"I am not going to respond." She said but she knew her voice lacked conviction.

"How about we put it to the test?" He suggested, cupping her face with his hand, his warm fingers immediately stoking a fire in her belly.

She swallowed as he closed the distance between their bodies, his thighs brushing against the unsteadiness of hers. "Don't do this..." She said on a whisper.

"Don't do what?" He asked, bringing his mouth within a breath of hers. "This?"

She closed her eyes as his lips brushed hers, the tingling of her mouth beneath the alluring pressure of his sending all thought of resisting him to some far-away unreachable place. His tongue broke the seal of her lips with a hot sensual probe that curled her toes and hollowed out her stomach. She pressed herself against him, her need spreading through her like wildfire. The heat from his mouth on hers fuelled the flames until she was only upright because he was holding her in his steely embrace.

Her tongue flicked against the scorching thrust of his, making her senses instantly soar. Her blood leapt in her veins, her heart starting to pound in time with the throbbing pulse of desire she could feel spreading from deep and low in her belly to the achingly hollow place between her legs.

She could feel his response to her, the hard ridge of his erection swelling against her stomach, and the increasing urgency of his mouth as it devoured hers. His hands moved over her possessively, shaping her breasts before he pushed her clothing aside to gain access to the satin of her skin. Her breath caught in her throat as his mouth moved from hers to suckle each tight nipple in turn until she was reeling from the passionate onslaught.

His blue gaze met hers, making Rebekah realizes she was playing right into his hands by responding to him so unreservedly. She gave him a chilly look and rearranged her clothes, pausing for a moment before she lifted her hand to her mouth to wipe away the taste of him.

"Get out." She said.

His mouth tilted arrogantly. "You are angry at yourself, not me. It annoys you that you cannot help yourself, does it not? You respond to me so delightfully every single time."

She tightened her mouth without answering, her hands going to fists at her sides.

"You are mine, Rebekah." He said, tethering her to him by a handful of her hair as he brought his mouth back to hers. "You are mine, body and soul."

Rebekah fought against her response as his lips commandeered hers, but somehow the hands that had started to push him away were now clinging to his shirt front, her mouth kissing him back with teeth, lips and tongue with an almost savage intent.

She swallowed his deep groan as she wrenched at his shirt, her hands skating over his naked flesh, her nostrils flaring so she could breathe in the clean male scent of him.

She fumbled with his belt and trousers, relishing the sounds of his pleasure as her fingers finally found him, hot and hard and heavy in her hands. She slithered down his body until she was on her knees in front of him, her tongue tasting him in a tiny cat-lick fashion that brought another rough groan from the depths of his throat.

His fingers were still in her hair, bunched against the maelstrom of feeling she was about to unleash. She felt his tension building, his legs braced as she lured him relentlessly to the point of no return. He shuddered and spilled himself, the sharp one word expletive bursting from his lips indicating to Rebekah that he had not intended to lose control in such a way.

It was a salve to her pride as she straightened to see the somewhat bewildered expression on his face. She watched as he refastened his trousers.

"I am sorry." He said, shoving a hand through his hair.

"It's fine."

His frown deepened. "Rebekah…"

"Its okay, Ted." She said airily in an effort to disguise how deeply affected she was. "I was getting my own back."

He gave her puzzled look. "What do you mean?"

She lifted her chin. "You think I have no self-control where you are concerned. I wanted to demonstrate that you are really no better."

"I have never denied my attraction for you."

She gave him a brittle glance. "No, that's definitely true."

His expression clouded again. "Look, Rebekah, I have tried to make amends for how I treated you."

"How? By forcing me into a loveless marriage so you can have full access to your child?"

"Marriage was the only option I could take. My mother is somewhat progressive in her outlook compared to other women of her generation, but I am a high profile person in a relatively close community. I would be looked upon with disdain for not marrying the mother of my child."

"Even though you hate me?"

"Those are your words, not mine."

"You don't need to say a word, your actions are more than loud enough." She said.

A taut silence throbbed between them.

"Have you heard from your sister recently?"

A small, barely audible sigh escaped from her lips. "No…"

"Then you will be pleased to know she is doing well."

Rebekah began to gape at him. "What do you mean?"

"I had a meeting with Jennie and I gave her an ultimatum. It was either clean up or be locked up. She decided a stint in a private detox clinic paid for by me was better than several months incarcerated in prison."

Her eyes widened in amazement, her heart leaping with hope. "She's really going ahead with it?"

"I have left someone in charge to make sure she stays the distance. She has been three nearly three weeks."

"Why didn't you tell me until now?"

He gave her an enigmatic look as he reached for the door. "I was getting my own back, Rebekah. Although three weeks is hardly as long as four years is it?"

She opened her mouth to answer, but he had already gone.

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	22. Chapter 22

"Mommy look at me!" Emily called to Rebekah from the pool on the terrace outside a few days later. "I'm swimming!"

Rebekah smiled as her little daughter flung her body towards her beaming grandmother, her tiny arms and legs thrashing at the sparkling water.

Melanie gathered Emily close as she came up for air. "Why do you not join us, Rebekah?"

"Yes, mommy, come in and I'll show you what else I can do." Emily piped up excitedly.

Rebekah slipped off her cover-up and slipped into the cool embrace of the water with a sigh of pure pleasure.

"How are you feeling today?" Melanie asked after Emily had bobbed under the surface to show off her bubble-blowing.

"Mush better." Rebekah said, "I think I'm finally over my jet lag."

"You still look a little fragile." Melanie said. "Ted is concerned about you."

Rebekah focused her gaze on her daughter rather than meet the older woman's eyes. "He's been very kind." She said with complete honesty.

She still couldn't quite believe he had taken control of Jennie's problems so effectively. She had finally been able to speak to her sister, who'd assured her she was making good progress. It touched Rebekah very deeply that he had done everything in his power to pull Jennie back from the brink. She couldn't make sense of his motives, for while he had made love to her each night; he had revealed nothing of his feelings. It felt as if hope and dread were constantly jostling for space in her chest.

"Emily has made him so happy." Melanie said. "And me too, of course." She released a little sigh and added. "Every time I look at her I see a glimpse of Kelly."

Emily popped back up, her blue eyes dancing with excitement. "Did you see me, Mommy? Even Jayla can't do dat!"

Rebekah pressed a soft kiss to her daughter's little button nose. "You are very clever but I think you have a very good teacher in your granny. She is much more patient than me."

"Patience is something I have had to learn the hard way." Melanie confessed once Emily had scampered off to play with her toys in the shade by the pool. "Every day is a challenge not to be angry at God for what has been taken away from me."

Rebekah turned to look at her mother-in-law. "I can't tell you how sorry I was to hear of your loss. You must miss Kelly dreadfully."

"It has been so hard." The older woman said, her eyes filling with tears. "But you have given me such a gift in Emily. I could not believe it when Ted called to say he had found you at last and that you had had his child."

"I tried to tell him, but—"

Melanie put a hand on her arm. "Please do not apologize. He was so angry back then and far too stubborn for his own good. I told him there could have been another explanation but he would not hear of it."

Rebekah wanted to reiterate her innocence but Emily was coming back toward the pool, this time with Ted holding her hand.

"Daddy's going to swim with me." She announced proudly.

Rebekah felt the sweep of Ted's gaze as he entered the water close to her, the rippling waves his large body set off brushing against her breasts as if he had reached out and touched her.

"You finally have some color in your cheeks." He observed, as his thigh brushed against hers beneath the screen of the water.

She began to turn away but encountered a contemplative look from her mother-in-law and turned straight back and smiled up at him. "I feel wonderful."

His blue eyes blazed with intense heat as they roved over the up-thrust of her breasts in her bikini top. "You certainly look wonderful."

"Emily and I are going inside." Melanie called out diplomatically.

Ted sent his mother a grateful glance before meeting Rebekah's flustered look. "It looks like we are alone again." He drawled silkily.

She backed against the wall of the pool, her breathing escalating. "Don't even think about it."

He pressed closer, his aroused length probing the quivering jelly of her belly. "No one will see us."

"Th-that's completely beside the point."

He ran his hands lightly down her arms. "You are shaking, Rebekah."

"I'm getting cold."

"You feel hot to me."

She ran her tongue over her lips, trying to put some distance between them, but he wasn't allowing it. She could feel every ridge and plane of his body until she was uncertain of where she ended and he began.

She watched in mesmerized fascination as his mouth came down, her eyelashes fluttering closed at the first whisper of warmth over the tingling surface of her lips. She felt the subtle probe of his tongue seeking entry and her lips parted on a deep sigh of pleasure, her stiff limbs loosening as soon as he took control of her mouth.

Her breasts swelled and ached for his attention, her inner core contracting in anticipation of his surging presence. He reached down to cup her tender mound, his fingers sliding into her with a deftness that stole her breath and heightened her excitement. She pushed against him greedily, wanting more of his exquisite touch, uncaring that they were in full view of the villa.

Before she knew what was happening, he had lifted her from the water to settle her on the edge of the pool, stepping into the silky embrace of her open thighs.

"No…not here…" She made a vain effort to stop him, but it was too late. He had already uncovered her to anoint her with his mouth and tongue while her fingers dug into his scalp to anchor herself against the torrent of feeling she knew was just seconds away.

She felt herself lift off, the rush of sensations overloading her until she couldn't think of anything but how he was making her feel. Wave after wave of rapture rolled over her, leaving her spent and useless. She opened her eyes once the storm was over, hot color seeping into her cheeks. "You shouldn't have done that."

His blue eyes glinted. "I had a score to settle from the other night."

"You could have chosen a less public venue." She said with a reproachful look.

"Ah, yes but we have an audience who needed convincing that this is a real marriage. What better way to demonstrate it than my uncontrollable desire for you and yours for me?"

"I hardly think we have to go to such extremes as this."

"I will go to whatever extremes I consider necessary."

She sent him a blistering glare. "I don't want Emily to see us pawing at each other like animals, it's disgusting."

He smiled as he ran a hand down the length of her arm, his fingers encircling her wrist like a steel bracelet. "It is not disgusting, Becca, what is between us. We cannot make it go away by ignoring it. We want each other like a drug. Your sister's addiction is nothing to ours. Four years of detox had done nothing to quell my need for you. I want you as much, if not more than the first time I met you."

"You want access to your daughter." She said, "Don't let cloud the issue with insincere sentimentality."

"I want my daughter in my life but I also want you."

"For now."

He frowned at the downward turn of her mouth. "You sound disappointed."

"I'm not." Rebekah knew she had answered far too quickly. She could see it in his eyes as they studiously assessed hers.

"My mother has invited guests this evening." He informed her after a small pause. "Olivia and her husband, Randy Orton, will be joining us for dinner. My mother is keen to show off her granddaughter; I hope you do not mind."

"Why should I mind?" She said, affecting a disinterested tone.

"I just thought you should know."

"Thank you for telling me. I'll make sure I brush off my besotted bride smile so it sparkles convincingly."

He trailed a fingertip down the creamy curve of her cheek, coming so close to her mouth she could feel her lips tingling all over again. "You do that, Becca." He said. "Who knows who might be watching?"


	23. Chapter 23

Rebekah heard the guests arriving later that evening but purposely stalled in order to get control of her nerves. She took her time dressing and applying a small amount of make-up, trying not to notice the shadows both in and underneath her eyes.

"Rebekah?" Ted opened the door after the briefest of knocks. "Olivia and Randy have arrived."

"I'll be down in a minute."

He closed the door behind him. "I will wait for you."

She put down her eyeliner. "They're here to see Emily, not me."

You can hardly hide yourself away indefinitely; beside, Emily is asking for you. She is getting tired and insists on you putting her to bed once she spends a few minutes with our guests."

Rebekah accompanied him downstairs, a false smile plastered to her face as they entered the sitting room.

"Ah, here she is now." Melanie said with a smile. "Randy, this is my daughter-in-law, Rebekah. Rebekah, you remember Olivia don't you?"

Rebekah's gaze moved from the warmth of Randy Orton's to the cool reception of his wife. "Hello, Olivia, congratulations on your marriage." She said politely, trying to chip away at the ice.

"You too." Olivia replied stiffly.

"Mommy?" Emily came trotting over with a huge grin on her face. "Look what Uncle Randy and Auntie Olivia gave me!"

Rebekah looked at the beautiful baby doll in her daughter's arms. "Wow, isn't that a gorgeous baby?" She said, bending down to Emily's level. "What have you called her?"

Emily rolled her tiny lips together before looking up at her father for inspiration. "What do you fink, Daddy? Do you know any good names?"

Ted gave her a tender smile. "How about we talk about it while I put you to bed, hmm?"

"Is Mommy coming to tuck me in too?"

"Of course." He said as he scooped her up in his arms. "Say goodnight, little one."

Emily smiled shyly and gave the guests a tiny up and down movement of her fingers. "Night."

Rebekah excused herself and followed Ted out of the room, but it wasn't until Emily was tucked in and asleep before he addressed a single word to her.

"Olivia seems to be a little cold towards you."

Yes, well, I did snatch her intended husband away from her four years ago." She said. "Perhaps she thinks I might have a go at her new one—Randy."

He frowned at her tone. "Do not take too much notice. She is newly pregnant and no doubt feeling a bit touchy."

"Don't worry." She assured him brusquely. "I do know how to conduct myself. I too was pregnant once, you know."

His eyes held hers for a pulsing moment. "Are you currently using any form of contraception?"

She lowered her eyes and began to twist her hands together. "Um..."

"Is that a yes or no?"

"It's an I sometimes forget to take my pills regularly." She confessed as she met his probing look. She nipped at her bottom lip before adding. "I take a low dose pill to keep my periods in some sort of order. They went out of whack after Emily was born but I'm not very good at remembering to take them. I restarted them when we…you know."

His eyes were suddenly very intense. "Has it occurred to you that you might be carrying my child?"

She found it hard to hold his gaze. "I'm sure I'm not."

"We have had unprotected sex several times and the pill might not have worked in time."

"It doesn't necessarily mean I've conceived."

"Dr. McIntyre will no doubt be able to verify it one way or the other. I have asked him to call me as soon as he gets the results of the tests he ordered.

Her expression took on an ironic twist. "I am the person he should be contacting, not you."

"You are my wife and therefore my responsibility. If you have a health issue, including pregnancy, then I want to be the first to hear of it, not the last."

Rebekah wanted to argue the point but she could tell by the set of his jaw it would be a wasted effort. She could see the glitter of bitterness in his blue eyes at being shut out of his child's life before.

"I don't want to be pregnant." She said, but as soon as the words came out of her mouth she regretted them.

"That is lousy form of contraception." He said as he held the door for her. "Wishing and hoping just do not cut it, I am afraid."

"I meant not yet…"

His eyes bored their way into hers. "Are you saying you will consider it?"

"I would like things to be more stable between us."

"We are married."

"That's not enough."

"What do you want from me, Rebekah?" He asked.

She brought her gaze back to his, her vulnerability on show for the first time. "I want you to care for me like you did in the past."

The seconds ticked by heavily as he stood looking down at her, his face an expression mask.

"I do not think I am capable of such feeling anymore." He said.

"Because you don't trust me?" She asked.

He stroked a fingertip down the curve of her cheek. "I think it is myself I do not trust, Becca." He said with a cryptic smile.

She grasped at his hand and held it tightly in hers. "Ted..I want you to know I have never stopped loving you."

She could see his surprise and suspicion having a drawn-out boxing match in his eyes, but it was clear that suspicion won the final round.

"We have guests to entertain." He said as he pulled his hand out of her hold. "They will be wondering what has become of us."

What has become of us, indeed? Rebekah wondered sadly as they walked in silence down the stairs…

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	24. Chapter 24

It was a long drawn out dinner and for every minute of it Rebekah was conscious of Olivia's gaze flicking warily to hers. She did her best to ignore it at first but after a while she started to resent the way the other woman was assaulting her with her repeated glances.

"What do you think, Rebekah?" Randy Orton suddenly addressed a comment to her but she was lost for an answer.

"I'm sorry…" She gave him an apologetic smile. "I was miles away. What did you ask?"

"Randy asked if you had considered moving to London permanently." Ted said with a very direct look.

"I…I don't...I'm not...I…"

Randy smiled. "I can see she hasn't quite made up her mind, Ted. You will have to work harder to convince her to make her home with you here."

"It is not matter." Ted said. "We can divide our time between New York and London until Emily is of school age. Then we will by necessarily have to put down some roots."

"Would you excuse me?" Rebekah pushed out her chair.

Ted got to his feet. "Are you all right?" He asked with a dark frown of concern interrupting his features.

She nodded even though it made her already tight head ache unbearably. "I'm just feeling a little light-headed. I need some fresh air. I'll be back in a minute."

Olivia got to her feet. "I will come with you. I need to stretch my legs."

Rebekah wasn't sure she was in need of company, especially that of a woman who apparently found her presence so distasteful.

"Your daughter is beautiful." Olivia said into the stiff silence as they traveled the marble hall to the main bathroom. "She is the image of Kelly at that age."

"Thank you…"

The bathroom door closed behind them and Olivia leaned against it, her shoulders suddenly seeming too heavy for her slight frame. "Rebekah..." she began uncertainly. "I need to talk to you but it must go no further."

Rebekah drew in a cautious breath. "I see..."

"No, you do not." Olivia said. "You have no idea what I am doing to say, do you?"

Rebekah decided to take a wild guess. "You're going to tell me you were responsible for planting the sculptures in my bag and at the hostel four year ago, right?"

"Wrong."

Rebekah blinked at her. "It wasn't you?"

Olivia shook her head. "It was Kelly."

"Kelly?" She felt her stomach drop. "But why?"

Olivia let out her breath in a jagged stream. "She did it to protect me. She thought I was in love with her brother. I suppose you know our families had more or less arranged our future union."

"Yes, I knew about that…."

Olivia's dark eyes met hers once more. "I should have told Kelly the truth, but I was too afraid."

Rebekah frowned in confusion. "The truth?"

"I have always loved Ted." Olivia said. "But like a brother. We had spent most of our childhood together and it was assumed we would make a match of it, but I was not in love with him. I was never in love with him. The truth is I have been in love with Randy since I was about twelve; I just wasn't game enough to tell anyone, not even Kelly."

Rebekah swallowed. "I don't' know what to say."

"It grieves me terribly to think you have been separated from Ted for all this time because of a silly prank on his sister's part. When I heard you had had his child I was sick with worry. I could barely look at you tonight without being reminded of how your lives have been changed."

"He doesn't love me."

"How do you know that?"

Rebekah gave her a bleak look. "He told me."

"I don't believe that."

"He only married me because of Emily."

Olivia's face clenched like a tightened fist. "It is my fault. I should have said something earlier but I did not want to betray to Kelly. She would have hated her mother and brother to think she had acted so childishly and irresponsibly." She pushed herself away from the door to pace the floor between the mirrored basins. "I should have come forward earlier but I made a promise."

"It's all right…"

Olivia swung back around to face her. "It is not all right. You are the mother of Ted's child. Don't you see how different this is for all of us now?"

Rebekah looked at her without speaking.

"Kelly thought you would go away and never come back, leaving the path open for me to marry her brother." Olivia went on sadly. "I should have been honest with her from the start. She was so proud of what she had done."

"I thought she liked me..."

"She did." Olivia said. "She thought you were wonderful. But she was caught up in her childish dream, that we would become sisters through marriage…instead we have become separated by death and deceit."

Rebekah closed her eyes for a moment, trying to make sense of all she had heard.

"Apart from planting the sculptures in your things, Kelly told the boys at the hostel to pretend they had slept with you." Olivia said into the silence. "I didn't find out until much later she had gone that far. She only confessed that the day she died."

"So no one knows about this, apart from you?"

Olivia shook her head grimly. "So many times I've wanted to say something to Melanie or Ted, but how can I? By doing so I would be destroying their precious memories of Kelly. She begged me on her deathbed never to tell. I haven't even told Randy."

"But it's destroyed my life." Rebekah felt the need to point out. "Ted's too, when it comes to that."

Olivia came closer and grasped her hands in hers. "No, that is not true. You have won him back. He has married you and you have had his child. He will come to love you again, I'm sure. He was in love with you before and will be again."

Rebekah gave her a smile touched with sadness. "I wish I had your confidence."

"He is a good man, Rebekah." She said. "He loves his daughter. You have given him such a gift. Do not give up hope."

"He's never going to find out the truth though, is he?" She asked."You won't tell him and I cannot for he won't believe me. He has never believed me."

Olivia's brow furrowed. "I made a promise to Kelly…"

"Kelly is dead but I am alive. Surely that takes precedence?"

"No." Olivia shook her head. "I cannot betray my closest friend."

"She's dead, Olivia. She won't hold it against you." Rebekah said in rising desperation.

"No, I will not do it."

"Fine." Rebekah turned away in disgust.

"If it is any comfort, Rebekah, I really like you. I liked you from the first time I met you. I know I did not show it. I was trying to put everyone off the scent of my infatuation with Randy by pretending to be put out by your involvement with Ted. But the truth is I have always thought you were perfect for Ted. He needs someone like you, someone strong enough to stand up to him. I knew from an early age I wasn't' that person. Do not misunderstand me, Randy is not weak. He is a strong man but he hasn't the ruthless drive of Ted. Ted will stop at nothing to get what he wants, but perhaps you already know that."

Rebekah turned back to give her a jaded smile. "I sure do."

"Please forgive, Kelly." Olivia said. "She thought she was doing the right thing at the time. She would have been devastated to know how much you have been hurt."

"And yet you will not alleviate that hurt now by telling all to Ted."

"I cannot do it! She was my closest friend. Beside, think of how it would hurt Melanie to hear of what her daughter did. She is only just coming to terms with her loss, Ted too. Tainting their memories of Kelly with this would be unforgivable."

Rebekah let out her breath in a stuttered stream. "No...I guess you're right. It wouldn't do to burst Ted and Melanie's bubble right now."

"Emily is doing a power of good." Olivia said. "I have not seen Melanie smiled for months and yet in the company of your little girl she beams from ear to ear."

"Do you think there will ever be a time when I can clear my name?" Rebekah asked.

Olivia gave her a long and studied look. "I think Ted will come to that realization himself, if he hasn't already. Besides, wouldn't it be better for him to believe you because he has come to trust you rather than because someone proved your innocence?"

Rebekah could see the sense of Olivia's point, even though she desperately wanted to be cleared of any wrongdoing.

"I saw the way he looks at you, as if he cannot quite believe you are back in his life. He might not be ready to admit to his feelings, but he definitely feels something. Forgive my asking much a personal question, but is your marriage a physical one?"

Rebekah could feel her cheeks answering for her even as she mumbled in the affirmative.

Olivia gave a satisfied smile. "I thought so. You have a certain glow about you. Is there any chance you could already be pregnant?"

Rebekah nibbled at her bottom lip before answering. "I don't think so."

"A baby would be wonderful for you and Ted right now. I am three months and I cannot believe how close it has made Randy and I."

"We should get back to the dinner. Thank you for telling me about Kelly. I realize it must have been hard for you, keeping it to yourself for so long."

"I wish I could do more for you, Rebekah, but I could not live with myself if I broke my promise to Kelly. It was the very last thing she said to me before his died. She begged me to keep her actions a secret. You do understand, don't you?"

Rebekah let out a tiny sigh. "I understand." She said, even though she wasn't entirely sure she did.

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	25. Chapter 25

Ted turned to Rebekah once the guests had left and his mother had retired to her room. "Would you like a nightcap?"

"No…I'm pretty tired. I think I'll go straight to bed."

"You handled this evening very well." He said. "I was worried that Olivia was going to make a scene. She was sending you some rather strange looks to begin with. What did you talk about when you left the room during dinner?"

"Nothing much, just girl talk."

"Randy has been worried about her for weeks. She has apparently been on edge ever since she heard about us meeting up again."

Rebekah avoided his eyes. "I expect she wondered if I had changed."

"In what way?"

She gave a little shrug. "Who know? Perhaps she was watching to see if I was going to pilfer the family silver or something."

He stood watching her for so long that Rebekah began to feel her heart pound in the silence. "Olivia knows nothing about the sculptures."

"Kelly was her best friend." She said, mentally kicking herself. "Perhaps they discussed it some time."

He shook his head. "No. Kelly gave me her word she would not tell anyone. I cannot believe she would have let me down in such a way."

"Lucky you to have such a devoted and trustworthy sister." She remarked with a touch of irony.

Ted frowned. "What is that supposed to mean?"

She turned to look at him. "Do we have to talk about this now?"

"Yes, we do." He said. "Have you some reason to believe that Kelly spoke to Olivia about this?"

Rebekah couldn't think of a way to answer without breaking her promise to Olivia. She stood in silence, feeling the burning heat of his blue eyes as they probed her soul.

"Answer me, Rebekah."

"I would like to go to bed."

"You will go to bed when I say you can."

She threw him a defiant glare. "Don't push me too far, Ted." She warned him, her voice rising in anger. "I've had just about enough of your caveman tactics."

"You only defy me to get me to subdue you. You like to goad me into losing control. I can see the challenge in your eyes."

"What you can see is my dislike of you."

He had the gall to smile. "So the love you confessed to me earlier has suddenly been downgraded to dislike. I knew you were lying. You wanted me to confess similar feeling so you could ridicule them."

"That's not true!"

His blue eyes glinted cynically. "I know how your mind works, Rebekah. It would be the ultimate revenge, would it not, for you to hear me confess my love for you, only to reject me as I once did to you."

"Unlike you, I don't have such a ruthless disregard for people's feelings." She threw back. "Don't judge me by your own appalling standards."

There was a sound at the doorway and Rebekah turned to see Emily standing there with a bundle of bed linen almost as tall as her gathered in her arms, her bottom lip trembling. "I did a wee-wee in my bed…" She said and began to cry.

"Oh, darling." Rebekah rushed to her and held her close. "Don't worry about it. I'll get you some new sheets and pajamas."

Emily's little shoulders shook with sobs. "I heard you fighting with Daddy." She said. "He won't' stay with us if you're angry at him. Dat's what happened to Sophia's daddy. He went away."

Guilt knifed through Rebekah as she encountered Ted's gaze over the top of Emily's head. "We're not really fighting." She said soothingly. "It was more of a discussion, really."

"You were shouting." Emily said with a little sniff as her thumb crept up to her mouth. "I heard you…"

Ted crouched down to his daughter's level and hitched up her tiny wobbling chin. "You are right, little one. We were fighting, but it is over now. It is normal for adults to sometimes disagree. But as long as they say sorry, no harm is done."

"Are you going to say sorry?" Emily asked with big crystal tears still clinging to her sooty lashes.

He smiled at her tenderly and brushed a tear off her tiny cheek with the pad of his thumb. "Of course I am little one?"

Emily gave another little sniff, her tiny chest rising and falling with the effort to control her sobs. "Now?"

He immediately straightened and turned to Rebekah. "I am sorry for being so pig-headed and arrogant. You do not deserve to be spoken to like that. Will you forgive me?"

Rebekah swallowed against the ridge of emotion in her throat. He had sounded so sincere. If only he really meant it.

"Of course I forgive you…" She mumbled self-consciously.

"Mommy always kisses me when she says sorry." Emily said. "Don't you Mommy?"

"Er...yes..."

"Then I had better kiss, Mommy so she knows my apology is genuine." Ted said. "What do you think Emily?"

"I think that's a berry good idea." Emily said with a beaming smile.

Rebekah tensed as Ted's arms came around her but as soon as his mouth brushed against hers she felt her whole body soften. Her eyes closed on a little sigh of pleasure as his lips came back from another whispering touch, her arms snaking around his neck, her hips pressing against his where she could feel his blood quickening.

It took an effort but somehow she managed to step back from him and reach for her daughter's hand. "Come on, Emily." She said. "Let's get you into some fresh things so you can go back to sleep."

"I don't have to wear a diaper again, do I?" Emily asked as Rebekah gathered up the bed linen. "I'm too big to wear one. You said I am."

"No, of course not, poppet." She said, stooping to pick up a trailing edge of the sheet.

"I will see to these." Ted said, stepping forward. "You change Emily while I bring some fresh linen to her room."

Rebekah felt the brush of his hand against her breast as he took the linen from her arms. "Thank you." She said, briefly meeting his eyes.

He smiled a slow smile that warmed his blue gaze. "We should have done this much earlier." He said in a low, deep tone.

She gave him a puzzled look. "What do you mean?"

"Forgiven each other?" He said. "It is about time, don't you think?"

She couldn't quite hold his look. "I forgave you years ago, Ted." She said softly as she turned and led Emily from the room.

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	26. Chapter 26

Here it is the final chapter of this story. I would like to thank everyone who read, reviewed, alerted and favorited this story. You guys are awesome.

Disclaimer:I do not own the WWE or the wrestlers in this story. I own only my ocs. This story is fiction and is to be taken that way. No Copyright Infringement Intended.

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><p>Ted was waiting for her in their bedroom when she came in from settling Emily back down. He unfolded himself from the chair he'd been sitting on and came to stand in front of her.<p>

"Rebekah, I meant what I said in front of Emily. I meant every word."

She stood uncertainly before him, her eyes skittering away from his. "Thank you..."

He pushed a hand through his hair, which by its disordered state seemed to suggest he had been doing little else for the whole time she had been tucking Emily back into bed. His expression looked pained, as if he was having some trouble formulating what he was about to say.

"I think it's time for us to have a discussion about our future." He said. "We cannot continue with this animosity between us. It is affecting Emily. This bed-wetting episode is an indicator of how much she needs us to learn to love and respect each other."

"Ted, I—"

"No." He said, cutting her off. "Please let me continue. I have been rehearsing this for the last few minutes, ever since I realized that I still love you."

Rebekah blinked at him, wondering if she'd heard him correctly. "What did you say?"

He gave her a rueful smile. "I love you, Rebekah. I think it is quite possible I have loved you from the first moment I met you, but back then I was too proud to admit it. I had responsibilities and expectations on me. I could not see any way out of them. When the sculptures were found in your bag and room at the hostel it gave me an out. It gave me a perfect excuse to bring our relationship to an end, even though I really did not want to let you go. But I felt I had to in order to do the right thing by my family. I let my anger blind me to the very real possibility that someone else was responsible for those thefts, someone much closer to home."

Rebekah unconsciously held her breath.

"You see, Rebekah." He continued. "You were the one person who was jeopardizing my future, or so someone close to me thought. I am surprised I did not see it earlier, but it was something you said the other night that made me realize how far some people will go to protect those they love. You, for instance, were prepared to agree to my insulting demands of you in order to protect your sister and Emily. It made me realize that my sister could very well have done the same. She desperately wanted Olivia to be her sister-in-law. She talked of it a great deal, even up until the time she died, begging me to marry her best friend, even though as time went on I could see it was not what Olivia wanted. And, coward that I was, I did not have the heart to tell Kelly it was not what I wanted either. I let her die thinking I was going to do as she had hoped. Of course, knowing Olivia as I do, she would have been reluctant to dash Kelly's hopes as well, especially when we all knew Kelly's time was limited. I suspected Olivia too allowed my sister to maintain her dream to the very last."

"Does your mother know about any of this?" She asked.

"I have not wanted to taint her memories of Kelly." He confessed. "But sometimes I wonder if she has come to the same conclusion I have."

"Which is?"

He reached for her hands and held them within the warmth and strength of his, his blue eyes glistening with moisture, his voice rough with emotion. "I was a fool to let you go four years ago. I should have fought to clear your name. You are incapable of such a betrayal of trust. You are loyal and loving to all who come into your life. The way you love your sister in spite of what she has done shames me. Your belief in her is unshakable. I would have given up long ago, but instead each time she lets you down you found new reserves inside yourself to forgive. I can only hope in time you will find it in yourself to forgive me."

"I told you just a short time ago that I forgave you years ago." She said with a tiny catch in her voice. "Didn't you believe me?"

His eyes glistened even more and his throat moved up and down as he fought for control. "This is four years too late, Becca, but yes, I do believe you."

Rebekah couldn't control the tears spilling from her eyes. "I love you so much." She choked as she clung to him. "There wasn't a day while we were apart that I didn't think of you."

"I thought of you too." He said. "That is why, when the museum contacted me about the exhibition, I felt it was too good a chance to miss. I just wanted to see you again, to make absolutely sure you were as guilty as I had thought. Seeing you that night made me realize my attraction for you had not gone away. Your response to me made me determined to have you again. Of course, when your sister stole my wallet and I later found it in your bag; I immediately assumed you were up to your old tricks again. I was ruthlessly determined to have my revenge."

"I was so torn." She said, looking up at him. "I wanted to protect Jennie so she could get the help she needed, but I was terrified if you found out about Emily you would take her away from me."

His expression clouded with remorse. "I am ashamed of what I threatened." He said. "You are the most wonderful mother to our little daughter. It would have been nothing short of cruelty to separate her from you or you from her. We are a family now."

"A family…" Rebekah breathed the words in wonder.

"Yes, you and me and Emily—the three of us. For now."

Her blue eyes twinkled up at him. "For now?"

He gave her a dangerously sexy smile as he brought his mouth close to hers. "Give me time, Becca. It takes time to build a family."

"Take all the time you want." Rebekah said on a breathlessly little sigh as his mouth finally claimed hers.

"What do you think of him?" Rebekah asked as Jennie cradled her tiny newborn in her arms.

"He's perfect…." Jennie breathed in amazement. "He's so absolutely perfect."

"We think so, don't we Rebekah?" Ted said proudly as he put his arm around his wife's shoulders.

"Of course we do, but then we're totally biased." She said with an adoring look as she met his blue tender gaze.

"Can I have a hold of him now?" Emily bounced up and down impatiently. "You promised I could after Auntie Jennie had a turn."

Jennie turned to her sister and smiled shyly. "And promises should always be kept, right, Becky?"

Rebekah's smiled lit up the roomas she looked at her glowing-with-health sister. "Ted and I want you to be Trey's godmother." They had named their son Theodore Marvin DiBiase, III. It was Ted's idea. "Would you do us the honor?"

Jennie's clear blue eyes filled with tears of joy. "You just try to stop me."

Rebekah smiled again. This was the family she had always dreamed of. Finally it had came dream.

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